Loopholes in time
by Corenttios
Summary: Ten years had passed since that day at Ryuudo Temple. The grail was destroyed, not a single wish granted and the person Shiro wanted to hold closest was taken away to an inevitable fate. But, maybe this story is not yet over. Perhaps even the impossible will happen again. After all, are the sword and scabbard not fated to be together? P.S. I own nothing, Some cursing involved
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: OK so this is just a short prologue of a much bigger story that I thought of. I'm just posting this to get an idea of what you guys think. I know it's not much to go off of but I didn't want to put any spoilers up front. Well, anyway tell me what you think. _

Shiro sat up. His room was dark as always and a thin sheen of sweat covered his tone body. Unfortunately, this was a normal occurrence for him. Even after ten years, he could still see her in his dreams. Despite all of his improvements with both magic and the sword, there was no way for him to be with her.

Shiro sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He stood and looked to where his alarm clock usually sat but to his surprise, it wasn't there. It only took him a moment to realize why. Somehow he had made his way into Saber's old room. He smiled wistfully. It still smelled like her, a combination of vanilla and fresh water. For whatever reason, the scent had never faded from this part of the complex. It was probably the only thing that kept him sane since she had left for her own time.

After a long moment, he left the room and went to his shed out behind his house. That was where he worked on all his magic. Rin was occasionally there to help him but she would kill him if he woke her up now. It was three in the morning. He casually threw open the thin wooden door and stepped inside. There still wasn't anything to special about this place other than the memories that went with it.

He quickly made his way over to the magic circle that had been carved into the ground. Taking his place in the center, he began the familiar aria, "I am the bone of my sword…"

In moments his surroundings had changed to the ominous plane of swords. It seemed to go on forever. In here, Shiro could do almost anything. The laws of physics virtually didn't apply what so ever. He began to walk through the infinite dimension but stopped as suddenly as he had started. If he could ignore physics, then what about the laws of magic?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: so yeah I got plenty of views in the past day. There seems to be enough interest for me to write this. Well here is the first real chapter. As with the first part any suggestions or corrections are welcome._

The burning sensation was intense. Every magic circuit in his body was working to a whole new level of extreme. The blinding light was intense beyond belief. He pulled a hand up to his eyes in a feeble attempt to ward off the sudden brightness, only moments before it had been close to pitch black but now it was closer to mid day. Slowly, his vision began to clear.

As Shiro took stock of his surroundings he immediately identified two things. First, that he was no longer in his shed and second was that there was a renaissance festival in town. All around him were men dressed in heavy plate armor, each with their own nice and shiny blade pointed at a vital part of Shiro's body. One of them casually made his way through the crowd of apparent soldiers, before stopping toe to toe with Shiro. It wasn't hard to tell that he was in charge by the way he was being stared down.

Almost instantly, the commander began shouting some gibberish in his face. After what seemed like an hour and a tuna sandwich later, the man finally shut his mouth. He stood looking at Shiro expectantly. He had probably been asked a question of some type. Letting out a laugh he finally said," Man, you people really take this role playing crap seriously, don't you?"

On a gut reaction, Shiro leaned back. A shield flew in from the side like someone had tried to bash him with it. He swallowed loudly; this was definitely not your standard fair. He grabbed the outer edges of the shield and used his leverage to flip the man who had lunged at him. One of the leather buckles that had secured the shield popped open. With deft hands, Shiro then took the shield and slipped his own arm into the single remaining bracket.

"Well, definitely not how I like to start my mornings, but hey what the hell…" Shiro muttered.

At this point the commander had backed off a few feet and what seemed to be like a hundred men were surrounding him, steadily moving forward. Losing his patients, Shiro rushed forward to the trio in front of him. He wouldn't bother to summon a sword. It wasn't like he wanted to hurt these guys. After further inspection, it honestly looked like they had no clue as to who he was. As he rushed in, the trio split apart, one remaining center and the others moving to flank him. This will be fun, he thought.

Focusing on the center man he used the shield to smash him off to his left. He stumbled a little but still managed to push past the man. Shiro could hear the sounds of shifting plate as the group of men moved to follow. He could probably outrun them with ease considering that he was unburdened. With a smile, he took off.

Shiro took a quick glance around. Just a dozen yards away was the beginnings of a dense forest. That would provide ample cover for him to find a place to rest. He began to turn in that direction and for some reason unknown to him; the men chasing him began to shout out in what could only be a bloody panic. Choosing to ignore this completely, he decided to pick up the pace to a full on sprint. Just before entering the wood, he turned abruptly to see how his pursuers were doing.

At that moment he felt a searing sensation near the top of his kneecap. He looked down halfheartedly to see an arrow that had gone all the way through his leg, just above the knee. He immediately turned. As he tried to continue into the forest, he felt the shaft grating against his bones. Shiro let out a stifled cry of pain but continued regardless. He fell to his good leg when another arrow punctured his left shoulder. Unfortunately, the weight of his shield made the arrow break off as his arm went limp. Letting out a curse, he managed to hobble further into the forest. He almost thought he would make it too, but as luck would have it, life decided to place another obstacle in his way in the form of a three hundred pound, tank of a man.

With one hand, said bear lifted Shiro off the ground by his shirt. He was casually thrown over a shoulder as the man began to walk his way back toward the military encampment. It was times like these that Shiro had to thank Rin, if she hadn't taught him how to knock out Ilya, then he would have never made it out of there. He stole her signature neck chop and hit the big man at the base of his neck. They both crashed to the ground. Shiro lost his breath as his wounds were aggravated, to say the least.

Finally standing, he took three steps forward which happened to be just enough to catch a chainmail fist to the face. The gleam and style of the gauntlet was vaguely familiar to him but it wasn't until the figure stepped out from behind the tree that he simply gave up. Standing over him was none other than Saber.

She was still the stoic person she had always been. Fortunately for Shiro, he had long since learned to see past that. The only emotion he could see was surprise, though it quickly vanished. Then it was his turn to be surprised. He was staring at SABER. She had disappeared ten years ago, she was gone, she couldn't be here, and it just wasn't possible.

Saber bent lower to look at his face as if she was trying very hard to remember something or perhaps decide if he was really there. With a shrug she stood back up and crossed her arms. Someone called to her from afar but she casually waved them off. She was obviously indecisive about something at the moment. Whatever that decision was, Shiro could only guess. After a short conversation with whoever had yelled to her, she looked back down at him.

Pulling a length of rope from seemingly nowhere, she shook her head in what seemed like pity and slight disappointment. Then all sighs of emotion were gone even to Shiro's meticulous gaze. As she moved up beside him, Shiro got the feeling that he didn't like where this was going. Glancing to the side he saw that he was right. The heavy metal boot hit the side of his head like a sludge hammer. It didn't take much encouraging after that to sit up. The world was now in a gray haze. He could barely feel his hands being tied. The most intense feeling was when someone broke the arrow in his leg and pulled out both sides. Next was the shaft in his shoulder.

He heard what sounded like Saber mutter a string of curses, something along the lines of a motherless banshee's granddaughter, and the sound of a knife sliding free of its scabbard. He could tell that she or some other soldier was cutting away his shirt. When the blade began to dig into his shoulder after the arrow head, he let out a grunt before the world simply turned to the darkest of blacks.


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro let out a gasp as the rush of ice cold water poured over his body. He could hear several people laughing, but when he tried to sit up, pain coursed through every fiber of his being. Letting out a gasp of frustration, he decided it was best to simply lie where he was. As he looked up at the night sky he noticed that it seemed different somehow. It didn't really strike him until he tried to look for a few familiar constellations. These stars were completely different. He tried desperately but he couldn't find a single one that he recognized.

Suddenly, the face of an older gentleman popped into view. He was staring at Shiro like one would a lab rat. His face slowly inched closer, as Shiro tried to move his back unsuccessfully, due to being flat on the ground. After what seemed like forever the man backed away a little bit making room for another face. This one he recognized to be the commander from earlier. Well at least I know this isn't a weird dream, Shiro thought.

Almost instantly, both of them started asking questions. Well, he thought they were questions. In response, Shiro could only give them a confused look. The pieces were starting to click in. Rin had always said that he wasn't the brightest but hey, this wasn't hard to figure out. With the stars being different, Shiro could say that he was most likely on a different continent which would also explain why he didn't understand anyone. The armor and swords were definitely real and so was saber. Her boot had hurt. A lot. This all lead up to one conclusion, he had somehow gone back in time and if his guess was right, then he was also in England.

The two men looked to one another. After a quick conversation, they both nodded to each other. The older man pulled out a gem. It was similar to the one Tosaka had made him swallow; only this one was carved with many runes and symbols. As Shiro was focused on that, the commander gripped his jaw and wrenched it open, not that Shiro offered any resistance. The old man dropped it into Shiro's mouth. Rather quickly, the commander pushed his mouth closed. He wasn't quite sure how but then the man did something to his jaw that made the gem slide easily down his throat.

"Well now, that's better isn't it," the old man said with a slight smile.

Shiro let out a gasp as the gem seemingly dissolved into magical energy. The only reason he could tell was because Rin had made him do something similar to that before. Still, he couldn't quite figure out what it was for until he registered the words of the old man.

"Amazing, I can understand you now," He said.

"And I you," Stated the commander, who then proceeded to pull Shiro off the ground. "Now you can spill all of those dirty little secrets of yours. So where do you hail from, Assassin?"

Shiro looked at the man incredulously before bursting out in laughter. The thought that he would try to kill someone, or rather that he would even get this far for the sake of revenge was ridiculous. He probably would have laughed for a long time if the knight hadn't punched him in the stomach. Shiro bent over his fist for a moment but then stood back up. It was clear that the other man was not amused.

"Lancelot, that's enough, did I not instruct you to inform me the minute he was awakened," said a familiar voice. It was stoic but still warm to a degree. As well as being a voice of complete authority.

Shiro looked up at the man holding him in surprise. So, he was Sir Lancelot. Figures history would forget to mention that he was a complete jarhead when it came to people. He smirked when he saw the knight's expression. It was as close to shame as the man could probably muster and it definitely didn't look well on him.

"Come Merlin, bring him with you, we have much to discuss and very little time to do so," Saber said.

That thought stuck with Shiro for a long moment as Merlin guided him to the king's quarters. He couldn't call her Saber anymore. She might not know that name and he couldn't call her Arturia because everyone thought that she was a man, hence the title "King". That only left one option which slightly irritated him. He was going to have to refer to her as King Arthur, but to him it just seemed kind of weird.

As they approached their destination, Shiro couldn't see absolutely anything special or outstanding about the tent itself. Upon entry, he found it to be as bland as any other soldier's tent with the exception of a few maps and papers, the three of them crowded into the small space kind of like kids on a school bus. Arturia sat on her cot which was parallel to the walls of the improvised shelter while Merlin and Shiro remained standing in the center of it. The constant clinking of her armor told of her restlessness.

Finally, Merlin spoke up, "Well, I believe that our dear boy here is from the future."

Shiro blanched for a brief moment, was he really that transparent? He looked at Merlin with a surprised expression, "How could you know that?"

Merlin tapped the side of his head, "Brain power my boy, it'll take you places, that and the fact that there are traces of a summoning around here with the same magical signature as you. Although it is somewhat strange, it seems to me that you somehow summoned yourself here rather than someone else pulling you."

"So, my question for you is why?" Arturia butted in. Great pull out the hard question first, he thought. It wasn't like he could just say 'because I couldn't live without you, Saber'. That would be stupid and if he knew anything about her at all, it would probably get him in a lot of pain. So he decided to go for one of the worst excuses he could think of.

"Curiosity," he said," I wanted to see King Arthur for real. In my time, some people don't even believe that you ever existed. They think that you are merely some fairytale made by the commoners to ease their minds."

They both seemed to nod. It was like they were having a conversation in their minds that no one else would ever understand. Of course, that might not be far from the truth, after all magic can do some pretty strange things. So, he simply stood there being scrutinized. They aren't going to buy it, he thought, but what else can I say? I have always sucked when it came to lying.

"Very well, if you don't wish to tell me then fine, however, from this point on you will remain guarded by two men form my safety as well as my soldiers. I promise if you try anything, it will not end as gracefully as last time," she said.

Shiro almost face palmed, of course she would see right through him. She always had. "But," she continued," I need you to prove to me that Merlin's suspicions are correct. If you are from the future, then you should know my history. So, I want you to tell me something that no one else would know."

This made Shiro stop and think, it was a hard question considering that he had no clue what everyone knew of their king. "I know that you have pulled the sword from the stone," he began," You have lead this country through many battles and all of which ended victoriously, you have been king since you were a young teenager and seem to not age but most of all, I know that your father Uther had never born a son."

It took almost a full minute for Arturia to react, she opened her mouth as if to speak but she simply couldn't find the words. Almost no one but Merlin and Guinevere knew that. How could history know that if the secret died with the two? It was a troubling thought. She hadn't really noticed until now but she found the pair simply staring at her, Merlin looking surprised and Shiro looking like he was about to be executed. Under normal circumstances that might have been the case. Not this time though. Something was telling her that he had known her before, on a more personnel level, not just from a text book. This would require some digging and maybe a little bit of persuasion.

Her thoughts were jerked away when a burning sensation appeared on her right hand. She clenched her teeth and gripped her wrist. Both the wizard and young man were looking at her with concerned expressions. Finally after what seemed like an hour the pain subsided.

Arturia sat there covered in sweat, unsure of what to do. There had to be a good reason. Pain didn't just happen to someone of her age. As she pulled off the gauntlet, Shiro could see her eyes furrow in concentration. At the same moment, he could feel something click inside of him. It was like a wire had been pushed into his soul. In that connection he could feel a very familiar presence. He began to fill with dread as his mind put the puzzle together. With a desperate hope he waited for what Arturia was going to say.

Merlin leaned over to inspect her hand as if expecting some kind of injury. His face instantly paled to the likeness of a ghost. He turned to look her in the face. She obviously didn't understand the problem. "Arturia, what have you done," he muttered.

Merlin shot a quick look to Shiro before grabbing Arturia's wrist and turning it so that the back of her hand was clearly visible. Shiro's eyes widened in recognition, on her hand was a very familiar symbol and one that had been on his own for close to two weeks. The command spells were clearly inked onto her skin, without a single difference or fallacy. Staring back at him was nothing more than the guarantee of utter ruin.

Arturia just continued to look between the two of them. She had no clue as to what the mysterious mark meant but it was apparent that both of these men did, and based off of their facial expressions, it couldn't be good. Before she could say anything Merlin began to tear apart her "room". Papers were flying everywhere along with various other items. To Shiro it looked like a scene from some crazy anime back home.

Merlin turned abruptly as Arturia tried to speak. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly," Where is it? Where is the circle?" he practically shouted.

Shiro stepped in between the two and pushed Merlin back a step," Calm down, freaking out on her isn't going to help anything. I'm willing to bet that our king here doesn't even know what you're talking about."

Merlin took a deep breath and wiped a hand over his face. He then grabbed a piece of paper and a quill. After dipping it in ink, he began to draw with the speed of what could only be a desperate man. Holding up the paper to Arturia, he asked," Have you seen this symbol recently?"

Shiro easily identified it as an older form of the summoning circles that his age of magi was accustomed to. Arturia looked at it for a moment before answering," Yes, that shrine in the forest yesterday. It had some form of pattern like this but I couldn't see all of it because it was partly covered in moss."

"I see," said Merlin," then that sorcerer you and your men killed was also a master, he must have just summoned his servant. Were you injured there at all?"

"Only a few minor cuts, just big enough to lose a few drops of blood."

"That settles it then," Shiro said with an honest smile," like it or not you've just found yourself in another war. Lucky for me, I got dragged in too. Merlin I trust that you know all the rules?"

"Indeed, and I suggest that you both listen very carefully because what you take from this will change the outcome of this war greatly."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how Shiro's name is really spelled? I've seen it with a U at the end in some of the stories I have read but then others spell it as I do. But anyway any reviews are welcome. Also feel free to PM me any suggestions or questions._

Despite being different than what he was used to, the night sky remained beautiful. The stars shown bright and the cool air flowed as easily as water. It was serene to say the least. Nothing seemed out of place, everything was simply right. However, the same could not be said for Shiro's thoughts

He was out in a small clearing almost fifty yards away from the sleeping camp. The only noise was from the rustling of the dozen sentries who were charged with the safety of their sleeping comrades. Shiro smirked at the thought. I guess it's now my turn to protect saber, he mused, or rather King Arthur. He and his old companion had a very long discussion on that topic. The only reason was because Shiro was honestly not sure what to call her and it just felt strange to address her as Arthur all of the time. After what seemed like a year of debate, he had finally managed to gain permission to call her Arturia when they were in private.

Shiro shook his head trying to clear it of thought. He had been given one of the spare tents and bed rolls in order for him to sleep but it seemed that it wouldn't come to him. His mind kept slinging its own idea's around without its owner's consent but at this point he had decided to just give in. There wasn't much else to do so he had decided to make a few rounds about the camp which had lead him here, where everything just seemed to flow in tune with nature.

As he stood there, the conversation with Merlin began to materialize and replay itself for the umpteenth time. The rules were indeed very different. Instead if seven servants there were only three, but if the particular servant happened to have magic circuits, then they could provide themselves with their own prana, thus eliminating the need for a master. That thought had scared Shiro at first, just thinking of someone like Heracles going berserk because there was no one to direct… well it wouldn't be pretty to say the least. Then there was the aspect that no one cared if they were exposed. According to Merlin this was only the second grail war; the first had pretty much ended the Roman Empire.

This was going to be a whole other ball game. It wasn't going to be between just masters and servants. From what Merlin had said, entire countries would be brought to the brink of destruction before all was said and done. The fact of the matter was that Shiro knew beyond any doubt that he would more than likely have to kill someone. He just didn't know if he could, or rather if he would, I should say.

Being a servant had its advantages. He was much stronger and faster than he normally would have been, not to mention that he never actually needed sleep but it was still a habitual thing, so it would seem. Shiro was only guessing but the difference was probably so drastic because Arturia had never used much of her massive sea of prana unless she needed Excalibur or Avalon. By all means they had every advantage, Britain was probably the best equipped nation when it came to warfare as well as the fact that one of their enemies had already been taken care of. The only problem was determining if it was a master or a servant.

He let out a sigh. Despite everything else, he was still happy to see Arturia. Shiro felt that even though she didn't know him as she had before everything would turn out fine. Another gust of wind blew by as he turned around. He relished the feeling and took the first of many steps toward the camp. Of course the trip didn't take long. Even his walking pace had increased involuntarily. As he entered the outskirts of the camp, one of the sentries gave him a cursory glance before signaling him to continue.

Shiro walked through the camp, surveying all of its inhabitants. It was quiet and peaceful as expected until he reached one particular tent. He smiled as he knew exactly who it was and what she was probably doing. He should have guessed. He knocked on one of the wooden polls that supported the makeshift structure before silently stepping inside.

"You should get some sleep, I can tell you're tired" Shiro said in a soft but assertive voice.

A small smirk crossed her lips before she replied," And this coming from the man who intrudes on the king's tent at three in the morning."

"Indeed, but if I recall correctly, a great teacher of mine once said that one should always take advantage of rest when in the field."

This time she looked up at him and nodded saying," A very wise person," before she turning back to her papers and made no move to put them away. With a shrug of defeat, Shiro turned to leave but the voice behind him caught his attention.

"Shiro… thank you for your concern," She muttered.

"Anytime, Arturia," he replied before leaving.

ЊЊЊЊЊЊ ЊЊЊЊЊЊ

"Greaves, you will take a scouting party up ahead of the main force. I need you to look and be gone, nothing valiant. Bedevire, you have command of the western flank, you will bring your regiment around to cut off their retreat so be absolute in your timing…" Saber continued.

Shiro stood just behind her left shoulder. It had been a pain trying to convince everyone that he wouldn't try to kill them all but they had eventually agreed to let him stay. The men around the table were all nodding as their king divided up forces and instructions between each man. This was what she had been working late on for the past few nights. He was amazed at the amount of energy she displayed, even after having only a few hours of sleep because of Shiro's constant pestering.

He peered over her shoulder once again trying to see any flaw in her plan. To tell the truth, it was basically perfect in his eyes, but something was still nagging at him. Shiro had at first written it off as pre-battle jitters which had calmed him at first. Now the feeling was back with a vengeance. As he scanned he saw that the basic idea was to push the enemy up against the cliff face that they were camped by and then cut off the retreat by a separate force. Still, it felt wrong.

The rest of the men brought a fist to their heart in salute before exiting the war council to prepare their soldiers. Saber turned to Shiro once all the men had gone with her standard flat facial expression stamped on her like paper.

"You still doubt my plan," she said, easily reading his eyes.

"I don't know. I cannot find anything wrong with it but something inside me tells me this is a bad idea," he replied.

"Have you ever been in a fully fledged battle before, with thousands of people, all depending on you to have good judgment?"

"Honestly, I can't say I have. I guess it seems way too easy to me, if nothing else."

She gave a slight nod," Well, at least you can tell me the truth. Believe me though, battles like these are often much harder fought then said."

With that, she walked out of the tent, Shiro trailing close behind. It had been one of his requests. No matter where they were, if the slightest chance of harm could come to her then he would be there. His argument had been fairly basic to say the least. I feel that I owe you for my summons whether it was intentional or not, he had lied. It felt so wrong to lie to her but he knew beyond doubt that he belonged at her side. She was now a target after all.

They walked out to where several horses were being stored and Saber let out a high pitched whistle. A large grayish-white stallion came up to her. She looked to Shiro as the horse nuzzled into her hand," Unfortunately, we do not have any spare horses as they are only for officer use and require extensive care."

"Not to worry, I think I can keep up," Shiro replied with a smile.

"We shall see," Saber said just before expertly jumping onto her mounts back.

The rest of the army had already begun to move out, as all the equipment had been packed up earlier. Saber seemed to also have this thing about being at the head of her force, so it was natural that she put the horse at a full gallop in order to catch up to the front. Shiro let out a sigh and ran to close the distance, which wasn't even close to a challenge. When he caught up to her, he put on the most casual expression possible and matched her pace. It took her a moment to notice, but when she did, she nearly fell off the magnificent beast under her.

Saber easily recovered without any help, but glared death at Shiro when he burst out laughing. Man, it was good to be a servant. The pair soon reached the front of the army, and with their arrival, a wave of cheers echoed through the slightly wooded area around them. The march wouldn't be long, only an hour or so. It seemed to move by swiftly.

Shiro walked casually next to Saber. The long silence between them was almost invisible because of the footsteps behind them. The sky, which had once been clear, was now covered with clouds that seemed to be made of obsidian. The feeling in the air was restless and expectant. All these men were veterans, Shiro realized; they knew what to prepare for. As they marched Shiro could see a short mesa appearing in the distance. Just below that is where the battle would take place.

Off to their right a few men came running. When Shiro tapped Saber's leg and pointed them out, she call for a halt. This was Greaves group, Shiro recognized. The man gave a quick salute before continuing between breaths," They are as we expected, Milord. Their camp appeared to be packed and ready to move but I do not believe they have been given any order to do so. There didn't seem to be any form of organization in the camp."

"Good work, Greaves, you and yours may return to camp for a well deserved rest," Saber replied. She was good at this authority thing he thought as she gave the order to continue.

The air now became eerie as the men felt their destination drawing closer. The slight patter of rain on steel reached Shiro's ears as the clouds above decided to open up and share their contents with the world. He felt a shudder run down his spin at the knowledge of what was to come. It had taken several days but Shiro had come to terms with the need to kill. He had thought he was prepared in every way but now he wasn't so sure.

"Relax; the men are looking up to us. We must show no fear," Saber said beside him.

Shiro knew that she was right. The only thing he would do at this moment was cause problems and that was something that is very unforgiving on the battlefield. He took a deep breath and calmed his nerves. After this single battle, came the true start of the second grail war. If he couldn't keep his focus now then it would be impossible for him to help Saber along the road ahead.

By now the two armies had noticed each other's presence. While Saber's troops were calm and collected, the opposing side seemed in complete disarray. Men were running back and forth to their positions while others were still struggling with their armor. This was way to easy. It seemed like it should be though. With the way the other group was behaving, it was like no one was in charge but hey, maybe that's what they were going for.

Saber reached down to her waist and pulled forth her blade, the dark sky doing nothing to diminish its glow. As she raised it over her head, the men behind her cheered. With a swing of her blade, her horse surged forward, with Shiro and the others hot on her tail. Naturally, the leader and her body guard reached their objective first, their superior speed leaving the footmen at least a dozen yards behind.

Shiro easily projected Kanshou and Bakuya into his waiting hands; their familiar weight putting him even more at ease. The first man he met took a clumsy swing towards his head which Shiro easily ducked underneath. Popping back up, he used the hilt of Bakuya to smash the soldier's helm, leaving the man unconscious. The next charged him wildly stabbing for his stomach. The blow was easily parried to the side before Shiro drew a long, but not life threatening gash up the man's are. His cry of pain made him wince as he walked by. Soon, there was a small pile of injured and groaning men all around Shiro. As he glanced over he saw Saber who was having absolutely no trouble.

She stood with her sword poised and a pile of bodies and limbs at her feet. If it were in a different setting Shiro would have called it elegant. He saw her horse making its own way out of the fray, so far unscathed. Smart beast, he thought with a smirk. A movement next to him caught his attention. The soldiers behind them had finally caught up and joined the engagement. It was clear to all involved who would win.

Shiro went forward in a mad rush. A sword reached out to meet him but he severed the arm holding the blade before it could do any damage. A spray of blood washed over his shirt as the limp appendage fell to the ground and the wounded man retreated. Victory was coming, he could feel it. He watched the man run to the back line but tilted his head curiously as the man kept double taking a look at the sky. Shiro followed the man's gaze and blanched.

All along the ridge of the mesa were archers. There had to be at least one hundred if not more. He remembered from the briefing that the ridge was supposedly impossible to climb. No one was supposed to be able to even get up there let alone men with that much equipment. Shiro was pulled from his thought as an arrow went through the leg of the man beside him.

Shiro deftly turned and lent him a shoulder and helped him to another soldier. As he past him off to the man, Shiro turned back to look for his beloved Arturia. She was almost completely surrounded but it seemed not to matter. It looked like she hadn't even noticed the men on the mesa. Without another thought he was off. He weaved through the crowd of men with ease, calling out warning of the archers above.

With all his skill, he struck. Men were falling before him like wheat, all with careful and precise cuts designed to cripple but not kill. Shiro took a jump back as Arturia nearly cleaved him in half with her prized sword, Excalibur. She looked at him in surprise at first and then frowned as she followed his pointed finger. Her reaction was almost instant.

"Pull back!"She shouted, as she cut another man down.

The soldiers around them reluctantly followed the order, still somewhat unaware of the situation. "Pull back!" she shouted again.

Shiro looked back. It was to late. The men had started running but it wouldn't be good enough. The archers above them released their first volley. The sky grew darker, if that were even possible. He needed something, a shield of some kind. Rho Aias was too small, he needed something bigger. All of these men in front of him were depending on him but most of all, Saber, HIS Arturia, and his king would be on the line. There was only one thing he could do.

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At the top of the mesa, stood a man with brown hair, a smirk was plastered on his face. This was it? This was all the king of knights had to offer? What a waste he thought as he brought his hand down, signaling for the arrows to fly. I have only been here a few weeks and the war is already over. He turned to leave when something caught his attention.

A massive explosion of Prana flooded the area. It was simply inhuman. He turned back to the battlefield and felt his jaw hit the floor. In front of his was a wall of hundreds, if not thousands of blades. They effectively formed a barrier between the projectile and their targets. He could hear them as they bounced off in every direction. A roaring cheer was heard from the other side. It gradually became louder as the barrier dissipated.

He looked frantically for the caster of such magic but soon had his answer in the form of a streaking golden arrow. The drill shaped blade easily drove into the cliff face. His skin turned extremely pale as he saw the sword beginning to crack with the shear amount of mana within it.

"Oh, sh…" was all he could say as the explosion rocked the cliff. He should have seen it coming. They were always together, the sword and its scabbard.

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Shiro stood looking at the cliff. The destruction he had caused and the lives he had taken had yet to register in his mind. Nothing seemed to be happening and he simply stood there. A familiar hand grabbed his shoulder from behind. As if on cue, his vision turned white and he felt a spurt of blood leave his mouth the warm liquid feeling strange against his cool skin. He fell backwards without even noticing. Except for the feel of the hands double catching him, he wouldn't have guessed. Someone called to him from what seemed miles away," Shiro… I know you can hear me, damn it!"

Hmmm… what a sweet voice, he thought, as he drifted away into nothingness.


	5. Chapter 5

Shiro sat up rapidly, only to have his face smash into something heavy and metallic. A surprised yelp of sorts greeted his ears. Yup, what a way to start the day he thought before looking up to see what he hit upon sitting up. After a few seconds his face turned cherry red as he looked up to see Arturia, who was still frozen over him, trying to reach something just to the right of him. It turned out that the heavy piece of metal happened to be her breastplate which was currently "in his space" if you know what I mean.

"S-sorry," he managed to stutter

Arturia coiled up like a snake and began to look around like a child who was caught doing something they weren't supposed to. Shiro started to chuckle as her face began to change from its standard pale white to a color equivalent to Rin's favorite shirt. It was a rare thing to see the king of knights so flustered but he had to admit, it was undeniably cute.

Shiro made another attempt to sit up and this time went unimpeded. The constant rocking of the wagon they were in went unnoticed for the most part. The pair just sat there silently, both were unsure of how to proceed. It was a long moment before she decided to be brave and make the first move. She took a deep breath to calm herself and reverted back to her natural, stone mask.

"I believe it is time for me to go and find Merlin, there is much to discuss," Arturia said quietly, before jumping out the back of the wagon.

Shiro sat there for a few minutes before he attempted to stand. Much to his surprise, there was no hardship in the action. He moved closer to the wagons flap having a silent debate raging in his mind. It only took a moment to decide until he jumped from his perch and landed easily on the ground. He was at least smart enough to stay near the thing, for when Merlin and Arturia arrived.

All around him were the same soldiers as before. Their tired and haggard faces holding a sense of good spirit. There were a few injured that he could see but over all, it seemed like the army had made it out unscathed. Shiro sighed in relief. Just then a very peculiar noise caught his attention along with a very foreboding feeling.

It started as a small hissing sound but gradually turned to a grumble. At the last second, Shiro turned realizing the sound was coming from behind him and caught a raving mad Merlin to the face. He could do nothing as he felt the old man's fingers grab his shoulders and begin shaking him violently. Off to the side he could see Arturia with a small smirk on her face that quickly vanished.

After several minutes, a few strange looks and many unintelligible statements, Merlin finally managed to regain his composure. The three of them now walked beside the army with no particular care.

"So," Shiro said," Anyone mind telling me where we're going?"

"Camelot, and you best be ready, it is truly a place to behold," Arturia answered him. It was obvious that she had a lot of pride in the city.

Shiro shot the two people next to him a smile," Yeah, I bet. I'm kind of interested to see the differences between our two time periods."

Merlin grunted," And I can't wait to get you to the lab. You have a lot to explain. You should be dead by all accounts but here you are not twelve hours later like it was an exercise rutine."

So, it went. Every once in a while a soldier or two would come up to Shiro and give him a hearty pat on the back while others would come to speak with Arturia. The sun slowly began to descend and the woods surrounding the group of men began to darken. There was still a loose tension in the air but no one really seemed bothered by it.

"Hm, where'd Merlin run off to?" Shiro thought out loud.

"Only the lord knows, he has a habit of running off and then popping back in when you least expect it," Arturia replied.

She stopped for a brief moment and called out a halt as the group reached a large clearing. It was nearly sundown and the soldiers all began setting up their tents by squad. Wow, Shiro thought, this is so organized that it's verging on OCD. The pair then walked to one of the many supply wagons where Arturia picked up a tent while Shiro grabbed a chest that she used to hold all of her papers and other necessities. It was times like these that Shiro really appreciated the increased strength of being a servant.

"Just out of curiosity, why do you set up all of your own stuff? I always thought that a king would have someone else to do it for them normally," he asked.

"A very simple reason actually. If I learned one thing as a ruler it is to never ask someone to do something that you cannot do yourself," she started "and once upon a time, I had no clue how to do this."

Shiro tried hard but against his will, a laugh left his mouth. Arturia shot him an angry glare before picking up the pace to her chosen spot. He easily kept up with her and tried to restrain himself.

"I'm sorry. I just have a hard time seeing you struggle with something like this. It seems like it would come naturally to you."

Arturia just gave him a nod before unraveling the tightly woven package, revealing some simple wooden poles and a couple of ropes. The duo began to set up the tent in silence. The process was fairly simple. After lashing the poles together, you only had to drape the tan cover over the frame. It didn't take long; when it was finished Shiro easily picked up the chest and moved it inside. He then stepped outside, lifted the tent flap, gave a mocking bow and said," Your majesties quarters are prepared," in his best butler impression.

He could hear the smile that didn't show as she replied," You know, it is quite obvious that no one ever taught you etiquette."

Shiro feigned indignation as he walked away, making a most outrageous facial expression. He then looked around as some of the men began to set fires and prepare diner. He spotted a small group off to the side and immediately recognized the faces.

Bedivere, Lancelot and Greaves all looked up as he approached. Bedivere gave a curt nod, while Lancelot let out a drawn sigh. Greaves seemed almost indifferent. "Mind if I join you?" Shiro requested.

"Not at all," Bedivere replied," We were just trying to decide who would cook for us this evening."

Shiro's face brightened almost instantly," Well, since I'm new here I believe I owe you a meal."

Lancelot frowned," You won't poison use will you? On accident I mean."

Based on Shiro's face, it was obvious that he had hit a nerve. That look of determination could only be described with one fraise. Challenge accepted. He was gone to the supply wagons before anyone felt the wind of his passing and was back just as quickly. He then projected the cutlery knife he used at home.

Shiro started chopping the meat and vegetables he had grabbed while away. "Oh now you've done it," he heard Greaves mutter.

Shiro pointed the knife in Lancelot's general direction," Damn straight."

The others burst out laughing and soon there was a nice stew simmering in a pot over the open fire. They each had their own bowl and were waiting for it to finish when Greaves spoke up," Hey Shiro, why do you care for him so much, the king I mean? You act as if you have known him for years but you have only been here for two days, half of that being unconscious might I add."

Shiro glanced up at him," Well, that's a hard question… I guess it's partially because it's my job to protect him as part of my contract and because he is someone I look up to. He gives me strength, you could say…"

Greaves nodded with satisfaction. Everyone else was told that he was a hired mercenary for the kings guard. He had often felt the same way. Shiro felt odd though, having to refer to Arturia as a man at least. Everything he said was true though. The entire reason why he had killed all of those men was because if he hadn't she would have been in danger. There were the rest of the men as well, but he still placed her on top of his list for some obvious personal reasons. They didn't know that though. They probably never would.

The stew had finished and he began to dish it out to the three around the fire. Groans of satisfaction followed suite which brought a smile to his face. However, Lancelot only grunted in acknowledgement of its flavor before all emotion vanished.

Shiro glanced over his shoulder and as expected, there was no fire or people sitting in front of Arturia's tent. He could see the dim light of her lamp from under the canvas. With a sigh he filled the bowl in his hand. Standing from where he sat he walked over to the tent.

Without a sound, he opened the flap and put the filled bowl in front of Arturia who looked up at him in surprise. He didn't say anything as he left back for the fire. As he sat, he noticed Bedivere's raised eyebrow. "I give him three minutes," was all he said. The others just gave him sidelong glances of disbelief before returning to their meals. There was plenty of extra of course, as no one was as big an eater as Fuji-nee or Arturia for that matter.

Greaves was in the middle of a joke when his mouth dropped open and hit the floor. The sound of footsteps from behind him informed Shiro that his guess was almost perfect. Arturia simply walked up to the pot and used the ladle to pour herself another bowl. Shiro cracked a smile when he noticed the faint blush on her cheeks in the firelight. No one else seemed to notice though.

As she turned to leave, Shiro moved over and offered her a place. Shaking her head, she walked back to her tent and went inside. When Shiro turned back he found that not just Bedivere's eyebrow was raised at him. He looked around the circle but found no differences.

"W-what?!" he stammered, raising an arm in front of his face.

Bedivere and Greaves burst out laughing as Lancelot just shook his head. It was then that Shiro realized how hot his face felt. With that the night went on. Jokes were told, questions were asked and so on. Even Arturia made four more guest appearances, but as the first time, she didn't say much. Finally, one by one they began to retire. Then it was just Shiro with his thoughts.

This was the moment he was dreading as he walked through the cool night air. He could see the faces of the men he had injured and imagined the cries of the dying. It wasn't something new to him but it hurt none the less.

Had he not trained his skills to perfection to save people? Shiro could now see what Archer had meant back then. It was impossible to save everyone. He himself had just proven that. He let out a sigh. Soon, he found himself staring at Arturia's tent from where he sat next to the dying flame. He was beginning to understand how she felt. Despite everything she tried, someone still had to die.

Shiro shook his head. I guess that's just the best we can do, he thought. He looked around the camp to see that almost everyone was asleep. When he looked back, he noticed that even Arturia's lamp was off. He smiled a little at the thought of her sleeping form. Visions like that, were what made life worth it.

His smile quickly changed in shape as he noticed a shadowy figure moving in the tree's just outside the encampment. Slowly, Shiro crouched down. The movements were fleeting and hard to follow, even with his enhanced vision. It was clear what the target was when the figure moved closer to Shiro's position.

With a burst of speed, it ran into Arturia's tent. Shiro was already halfway there and projecting Kanshou and Bakuya. He ran silently through the grass, hoping to get the element of surprise on the would be assassin. When he burst into the tent, the clash of metal awoke Arturia. Her eyes flew open to regard the two blades crossed over her torso, one white with a strange inscription on the blade, while the other was a simple dirk that could be easily hidden.

Arturia's reaction was instant and practiced. Her foot connected with the man's chest, causing him to fly out of the tent. Shiro quickly paced after him. He looked like the grim reaper as he pushed the tent flaps out of the way. He could see that the one in front of him was dressed in full black clothing. The man's face was covered with a turban of some kind which effectively prevented any form of identification.

The assassins speed was astonishing as he lunged forward in an attempted thrust. Shiro barely had time to react and felt the blade graze his forearm when he jumped to the side. He countered by taking a swing at the man's torso but he easily evaded the blows with cat like grace. His enemies fighting style is much like rider's, he thought. With that connection in mind, Shiro moved to close the gap between the pair.

As expected a foot came up to kick his face. Shiro was more than ready for it. He leaned back as it passed inches in front of his nose. He then dropped both his blades and latched onto the leg. Heaving with all his might, he picked his opponent off the ground. Flipping the assassin over his head, he grimaced as the ground under the man cracked like glass. Looking up he noticed Arturia standing a few feet away from him with a serious expression. One of the sentries ran up and pulled a much older version of handcuffs off of his belt. With a nod, the king motioned him to continue.

Shiro walked up to her without much hesitation," You ok?"

She looked at him for a brief moment before nodding again.

"Any clue to who that is?"

"No but I have my guesses, this isn't the first time someone tried to assassinate me," she said nonchalantly.

A grunt drew their attention. Shiro looked over just in time to see the black figure running off into the forest and the sentry lying on the ground with a dagger in his shoulder. He immediately bent down and helped the man up," little bastard," the sentry muttered under his breath. The man reached up and pulled the dagger from its place with a wince. The wound wasn't deep but still serious enough to kill, if it got infected.

The man walked off with a sigh. It was clear that he was mad, which was to be expected. Turning his attention back to Arturia, he asked," so what now?"

"We wait for the second attempt and hope we can capture the little demon," was all she said," that or see if Merlin knows something."

Shiro nodded, such an action was to be expected. If the man was half as fast as he had appeared then he was already long gone. It did bother Shiro though. He didn't really like using her as bait. Of course, he knew that she could handle herself in a fight, but if he hadn't been there in time then she could very well have died.

"In that case, would it be too much trouble to get a room close to yours? I'd like to be there if something were to happen," Shiro said.

"I agree I have a feeling that my normal guards wouldn't have noticed the man in the first place, not that it matters too much."

Shiro gave her a curious look. She saw the question in his eyes and answered it by taping the sheath at her hip. "Avalon is much more beautiful when being used, but I prefer to avoid the pain," she explained.

Shiro almost face palmed in understanding. At this moment, she still had Excalibur and Avalon. She was basically invincible to say the least. Here he had been completely worried about her safety when the lady of the lake already had it covered. Like she said though, he hated seeing her hurt so it was no reason to be careless.

Without another word, Arturia turned back into her tent and disappeared from sight. Shiro heard her lay down on her bed roll. He walked over and took a seat next to the tents entrance. He was kind of surprised at how active everything had been. It was a massive change to his old life style back in Fuuyuki.

Thinking of the city brought back memories of his friends. Rin being a know it all, Taiga being a bottomless pit for food and Sakura just being a general worrywart for his safety. He wondered what they were all doing right now. Probably trying to kill each other, he thought with a smirk. It was a funny image in his head. All three of the girls running around the table with knives while Ilya sat off to the side doing whatever kids do.

Shiro looked over his shoulder through the crack between the tents entrance. It was amazing how fast Arturia could fall asleep. If he didn't know any better then he would say she had some kind of power switch. Her whole body was relaxed. Her stern expression had faded into that of a small smile. This is what he was trying to protect. It was his little piece of Avalon. It was what gave him strength to move every day and try for the impossible. As he looked out to the rising sun he sighed. He wouldn't have it any other way.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Sorry guys, this one's kind of a filler chapter but I needed to set up some future events. This may turn a little bloody in the future but I'm still kind of debating it so yeah, if your not ok with that kind of thing then tell me before the next chapter so I can try to omit it. _

_Well, anyway comments and review are appreciated. I own nothing, _

_So enjoy!_

The dank smell of the castle made him smile. Oh, it brought back memories. He had once had a little hovel like this, hidden away from the world. It was where he preformed his less… savory tasks. Eventually, the sweet thoughts turned sour as they were brought back to that battlefield. It was so close to complete domination that he could still taste it on his tongue but once again, victory had eluded him.

The man behind him gave him a rough shove forward. Barely stumbling, he looked over his shoulder and muttered," We shall see who has more power soon enough."

The guard just continued walking with a stupid grin on his face. He obviously didn't take the man in front of him seriously and probably expected the same from his mistress. The greeting had been far from warm when he had first arrived. Unfortunately, the atmosphere hadn't changed much, not that it mattered. It would only serve to make this task more difficult. When one needed to gain a person's trust, they needed other friends to back them. This, however, was not something working in his favor.

The two men slowed their walk as they approached a huge pair of reinforced doors. Well, at least I know she's careful, he thought. As the doorway swung open, he saw a small but majestic throne room. Several tapestries lined the walls along with a few paintings and weapons. All of these objects seemed to lead the eye to one certain point.

On a large, gold plated chair sat a middle aged woman with stark black hair. It wasn't hard to tell that she was a little cynical or paranoid because the shear amount of men in the room. His shoes clacked against the stone floors as he strode into the room. He stopped just before the throne and bowed low. A first impression never hurts ones negotiations.

"So," she began," first you invade my land with a pitiful force and now you approach my doorstep offering me aid. Speak magi and you better make it a good statement, it may very well be your last."

"Lady Morgana, I must apologize for stepping on your feet, but it happens that I was not intending to harm you. You see mad 'am, we have a common enemy, one that we both need… dismissed," he responded.

"I'm listening"

"All that I would like is two people, the first being the king himself and the second person is his personal body guard."

Morgana nodded," I see. Now the question is, what can you do for me?"

He shot her a wicked smile "I my dear lady, can give you the Throne."

This immediately caught her attention. She would need allies in this task. Not to mention a scape goat if everything went wrong. The wheels in her head began spinning. She needed some kind of evidence that this man could potentially deliver. This was not something to be thrown around lightly.

"How can I know, that you have the power to do this?" she asked after a brief moment.

In response, he turned to the man who had escorted him in. Grinning evilly, he took his palm and placed it on the man's breastplate. He laughed as he felt the magic energy leave his fingertips. A small ball of kinetic force shot into the guard's chest. He flew out the double doors which were still thankfully open.

Turning back to Morgana, he placed a curt smile on his face," because that was only a drop in the ocean of my power."

She looked as if she was appraising an item before waving a hand," Fine, it seems we have an arrangement, but I warn you. If you fail then I will not hesitate to leave you behind."

He turned around at the obvious dismissal. He walked out of the chamber, pausing only to wipe the blood on his hand onto a servant's plain white tunic. As he exited he let out a laugh, everything is going as planned. Just as the doors were about to shut he heard a voice call to him," Sir, by what name shall you be known?"

He turned to look upon the lady once more before finally deciding. No use in hiding his real identity, no one here knew him. "Kotomine," he said with another bow," Kotomine Kirei."

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Laughter filled the small room. It had been a very long time since their last meeting. All around the plain circular table, knights sat, talking and drinking with each other. A large keg of ale sat in one corner while the others had tables laden with food and plates that were rarely used. All of the knights present seemed to be enjoying themselves. However, Arturia was not.

After the army's triumphant entrance home, she had made a request of Shiro that she was honestly ashamed of. Try to remain invisible, she had said, it would be difficult to explain your situation and contact with me. He had simply nodded with a smile and followed her request. He seemed so understanding, like he knew what was going through her mind. So much so, that he hadn't even bothered to protest although, she could see the hurt feeling in his eyes.

A thunk across the table drew her attention. She looked up to see Bedivere and several of the others staring at her with mischievous expressions on their faces," So, we hear that our dear Art has finally found a little company," a tall, dark haired man began.

"Oh, Galahad my young man, I believe it to be quite a bit more than company," an older gentleman by the name of Gawain replied.

It took a moment for Arturia's mind to catch up but only a moment. Her face turned red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, her death glare clearly pointed at Bedivere, who just through his hands up and tried to look innocent.

After a moment another of the knights, Kay, butted in," So, where is this lover boy that has captured our Arturia's stone heart?"

"Indeed, I would like the pleasure of meeting such a man, who could warm the sleeping lion," continued Ywain, a shorter, almost dwarf like man.

Without a word, Arturia stood up to leave. Before she could take the first step an arm had circled her shoulders and was leading her to the door. Lancelot had come out of his little corner and was now pushing her forcefully to the door. "That's the spirit, why don't you go out and fetch him so that we might learn from his obviously, extensive experience," he said.

Just like that, she was forced from the room and into the hall. The large wooden door that closed behind her did nothing to muffle the cheer that went through the room. She sighed, her friends had set her up once again and as expected, she had walked right into it. The topic brought back a few memories of how everyone had come to know her secret of being a girl, the very awkward conversation replaying in her mind as she wondered the many halls of the castle. In the end they had all just laughed at her as if they were expecting something like that.

After a long walk, she found herself pacing the inner wall which overlooked the city itself. Arturia loved to come here to clear her thoughts. The fresh air had always brought a sense of peace to her mind. The city below was quieter than the day, but was never really asleep. A few lights flickering here and there, sometimes made it look like it was mirroring the stars.

It was strange. The city always seemed so serene as if it were completely oblivious to the rest of the world and its turmoil's. Although it was a good thing to some extent, their ignorance only meant that the army was doing its job well. Not a single scratch had marred the outer wall of Camelot in over a decade. Such complacency could prove fatal if the enemy was strong enough. Such complacency could also lead to a deadly backlash, at least for the assailant.

Less than a second after the thought slipped her mind, a hand tapped her shoulder. Acting on instinct, Arturia turned at the waist and drove a solid punch into the man's gut. An all too familiar grunt met her ears, along with a horrible realization. On the ground in front of her was none other than Shiro Emiya. She immediately moved to check and see if he was ok but a sort of pained laugh reassured her that he was at least alive.

"God, I thought that I remembered what it was like for you to beat me up," he muttered as he tried to catch his breath.

Finally, the pain subsided enough for him to sit up. A timid hand appeared in front of him. He didn't hesitate to take it and was greeted by a sigh of relief. He shook his head to himself; it wasn't like he would have smacked her away or anything. When he was back on his feet he met Arturia's eyes which held an obvious question.

"What do you mean?" She asked, her voice unwavering despite her obvious nervousness.

"Well, way back when, I had a teacher just like you. She could have been your twin in appearance, but I thing she was a little more stern," he replied.

Arturia simply nodded and waited for him to continue.

"She taught me how to wield a sword, or at least what little I know of the skill. There were several other people there to and we all made up our own family of sorts, if you know what I mean."

She smiled a little at the thought. Her own knights had the same kind of relationship together. Something that couldn't be called family, but was more than friendship, "What did you call her?"

Shiro looked surprised for a moment before answering," Oh, well we just called her Saber."

The way he said her name, set something on edge inside Arturia. It was a foreign emotion to her but one thing was clear. Whoever this so called Saber person was, needed to be dead. She also noticed a little recognition of the name. She would never be able to say where she had heard it though.

She decided to be bold;"Do you love her?"

He nodded before looking at her," Yes, but I'm still not sure if she is in love with me."

Again, that feeling rose up inside her chest. At the same time she felt her heart skip a beat or ten. His eyes told her that he was keeping some secret and for whatever reason, she felt that it was one that she desperately needed to know.

They sat there starring at each other for a long moment, when a thought reoccurred to her. She was supposed to bring him to meet with all of the knights. Quickly grabbing his hand she began marching in the direction of the knights' chamber. Shiro seemed a little surprised at first but quickly adjusted and followed behind her.

Soon, the sound of cheers found its way into the pair's ears. The sound of merriment echoed through the halls like thunder. However, as they approached the black wooden door that contained the source of the sound, it all seemed to disappear. Upon opening the door, they beheld a strange sight.

All the knights were starring at them without restraint. Each at their own seat with a small pile of gold in front of them, and it seemed that Merlin had joined them as well in the place of Sir Lancelot. They scrutinized the pair, looking from their clasped hands and back up to their faces. Suddenly, a large smile burst onto Merlin's face as the other all slammed the table in unison, shouting "Ahh, Shit!"

Instantly they all began pushing the gold to Merlin who sat there happy as a clam to take his fellow men's money. "What is this about?" Arturia asked, directing the question to Merlin.

"Well, you see, we had a bet in your absence," he replied casually.

As Shiro looked around, he could see the looks of worry and pleading cross the knights faces. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arturia motion for him to continue with her free hand.

"Most of these loyal knights, believed that you and your man here had snuck of to have a little, um, shall we say tryst in one of the towers," he began rather cautiously," fortunately, I happened to stand up for your virtue."

Shiro tilted his head curiously to the side as he watched Arturia's face turn from pink to red and then back to pink. Although he had no clue what the term "tryst" meant, he had a feeling that she was about to become very, very angry. When he looked back to the table, he saw that Merlin had vanished and all the men were pale as ghosts.

Lancelot, who had been in his corner and refused to participate in the gamble, leaned over and whispered in Shiro's ear," In other words, they were betting on whether or not the two of you would be parents in the next nine months."

The implication took a moment to register in his mind before his face began to warm. It quickly turned into a fire when the thought process inevitably brought images of the women in question to mind, from their accidental encounters during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Then he looked over to Arturia.

He could see the pulsing vein on her forehead. Oh yeah, they're screwed, he thought. "Shiro, Lancelot, would you mind guarding the door for a moment?"

Shiro gave her hand a quick squeeze before following the older knight out the door. He would have sworn he heard the devil's laughter as it slammed shut. Sure enough, as death cries began to flow out of the room several of the guards came running. However, they stopped mid stride upon Lancelot's head shake. They all exited stage right, cracking up in laughter and muttering things like," he's at it again."

Not even fifteen minutes later, the door opened up revealing a much calmer King of Knights. As she walked out she told Lancelot to get the keep's medic to take care of them all and motioned for Shiro to follow her. It didn't take much for him to obey. She was scary when she was angry. Just before they walked away, he glanced over his shoulder just enough to see eleven of the twelve knights on the ground out cold but none of them seemed to be dead or dying at least.

Shiro chuckled as they walked. It was so strange to see Arturia as she was now. It was almost like she and Saber were two separate people. He couldn't recall a time when she was so carefree and well, childlike. She seemed to still have an air of innocence about her. Her personality didn't quite fit the stone cold warrior that he had first met when he had summoned her. It is without saying though, that he had managed to see a few glimpses of this side of her personality during the war.

"Shiro, I have given your request a lot of thought and come to a conclusion," she said suddenly, her face going back to the familiar all business tone.

He looked at hr curiously for a moment before remembering," Oh, yeah about the room in which I shall stay."

She nodded once and continued," I have decided that it would be most practical if you were to stay in the same room as me."

"W-what!?" Shiro exclaimed, his face turning a little red.

"Is such an arrangement not to your liking, Shiro?" she asked, with a little hurt in her voice that he only noticed because he knew her so well.

"No, no but… won't everyone else think it strange?" he replied quickly trying to calm her.

She shook her head," Some people might, but I believe that I have come up with a sufficient cover story. From here on out I shall have you claimed as my personal guard who basically does anything and everything I need done, within their capabilities of course."

"I see, but I still don't feel like this is right."

"Why, I do not understand?"

"Well, it's just that your girl, so you know, I just feel like I'm intruding or something."

"Is that what this is about?" She said looking at him angrily," Really, Shiro that is a trivial matter, besides you mustn't think of me as a women but a warrior. I am not some flower you need to shelter."

"Yes, I know that all too well, but still-"

"It doesn't matter," she asserted," sometimes practicality needs to come before ones own desires. If I really need to I will use one of my command seals, but it would be a horrible waste."

They both stopped in the middle of the hall starring at each other, trying to see a crack in the other's resolve. Finding none, Shiro finally threw his hands up," Fine, have it your way then."

A devious smile appeared on her face before she continued to lead the way, only a step in front of him. He smirked, last time they had this conversation it was Shiro who had the command seals and it had ended very differently. As they walked up some stairs that lead to the king's chamber, she slowed to stand beside him. She hesitantly grasped his hand which he instinctively squeezed in return. The more he thought about it, the happier he was with this outcome. It wouldn't be that bad, he thought as he looked over to Arturia who had her head bowed, obviously trying to hide her face. Nope, it wouldn't be that bad at all.

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The young women walked down the street of the small village. It had been a rather bland day as expected, but it wasn't bad either. The tavern had more than the few regulars and she had made some decent coin. If she was lucky then maybe the same would happen tomorrow.

Not paying attention, she fell to the ground as a rather large figure rammed into her shoulder. The man was covered with a black cloak that hid all of his features and she could feel the urge to get away rolling off of him. Despite all of this, she stood to express her indignation. She began ranting her anger at the cloaked man who merely gave a grunt in return. He moved to keep walking but she grabbed onto his shoulder.

It didn't even register until she heard the clink of her gold coins hitting the stone pathway. Looking down, she gasped. The jagged blade of a demonic looking long sword was sheathed inside her stomach. Just below that her coin was splayed all over the ground, covered in blood. She let out a scream that was cut short as a second, slightly smaller blade removed her head.

People all around them began to scream and cry out as they saw her body hit the ground. It wasn't long until several men were approaching him with old, rusty blades. He simply stood there as if nothing had happened. The wind picked up in front of him which caused the hood of his cloak to slip free revealing the face of a large red-haired man with grey eyes. Revealing a face filled with madness.

Ripping the cloak from his body he revealed a muscular and tanned torso. Several of the villagers charged at him.

"Come; meet your fate at the hands of the god of war! Behold the awesome might of the one called Aries!" he beckoned

Only an hour later, a boy stood on the top of a hill, looking back at the burning remains of his village. Quickly whipping away the stream of tears, he turned around and began limping toward Camelot, hoping that he wouldn't bleed out before he arrived. It was the one place that he might find help. It was the one place that contained someone that could face the man called death.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: sorry guys but this may not be totally accurate at the moment because I'm not sure if Arturia only has Caliburn at the moment or if she is already in possession of Excalibur, however for the sake of having Avalon already and part of the story line, I am saying that she has Excalibur already. If anyone happens to know I would greatly appreciate being informed so that I may amend any mistakes._

Shiro stood abruptly from his chair as a thunderous knocking began on the large wooden door. He had been in that spot since Arturia had brought him into her room. She had gone to sleep rather quickly, but that was something he had expected. So, there he had sat, watching over her sleeping form seeing as he had no need for rest. He shot a glance out the window and then to Arturia, who was still out cold on a plain but comfortable bed with her hair splayed out all over the place. Just as he thought, there were at least three hours until daybreak. I guess it is true what they say, the leader may never sleep.

After a moment's hesitation, he walked from the bedroom and out into a small sitting area, although the two were only separated by a very large curtain. He approached the door casually and pulled it open. Starring back at him as a smaller man who was most definitely an aristocrat of some kind, at least based on the way he was looking down his nose. The man looked at him in surprise at first, which quickly changed to suspicion and then indecision.

He finally decided to simply ask the age old question," Who the hell are you?"

"A cod fish, sir, now what if I may be so bold as to ask why you are disturbing the king at this hour," Shiro replied.

He never had much patients for people who looked down on others because of some given title. The statement did have the desired effect though, which was to make the smaller man start sputtering wildly as his face turned red with anger.

Another minute passed when the man calmed himself enough to speak a full sentence," I have no time for this nonsense, I need to see His Majesty immediately, now if you would be so kind as to let me through."

"Sorry, but that's a big no can do. However, I will go and awaken the king immediately and inform him of your arrival. Should I tell him anything specific?"

"NO! Just go and wake him, you twit!" he shouted, seemingly on the verge of punching Shiro's face.

"And a good morning to you as well, it seems that you have become well acquainted with my subordinates lack of respect," a voice said from behind Shiro.

Shiro took a step to the side, clearing the doorway so that Arturia, who was now in her armor with her hair braided, might step through and speak to the man who had come. As he turned, he saw the look she was giving him and it made him want to shrivel up. It was clear. They'd be talking about this later. There was a slight hint of mirth deep in her eyes though, but again it was only slight.

Not sparing a second, she looked to the aristocratic man and asked," For what reason do we need to speak so early in the morning."

"Milord, I believe that it is best that you come see for yourself, this is not something that I feel should be explained with words."

Arturia nodded, signaling for him to lead the way seeing as she had no clue where to go. With wave of her hand, she motioned for Shiro to come along as well. If this was really something bad, then she might need to send for her knights and no one was faster than Shiro as far as she knew. The other man did frown slightly, disapproving of the decision but never objected.

They walked at a brisk pace through the stone halls, passing a few other people going about their various duties. The air around them could be described as tense at best. From here on in, there were no more games, only business. It was hard to describe, but for some reason, Shiro could tell that he wasn't going to like this. Soon enough, he found his guess to be true when the group entered the medical ward of the giant complex.

Upon entry their target was apparent. Merlin stood over a boy who looked to be around thirteen years old. To be blunt, it wasn't looking to good either. His skin was extremely pale; a telling sign of blood loss and the massive gash on his leg was freshly stitched. It was still oozing out a greenish liquid that Shiro could only guess told of infection. Without much word they both got closer to see that he was clearly unconscious.

Arturia turned back to their guide with a cold look in her eye," I see this particular situation, however, I do not see why this requires my attention."

Shiro's eyes nearly popped out of place. He knew that she could be stoic when needed but that was just plain cold. He could see her point of view though, he really didn't understand what this had to do with them either, but just because he understood doesn't mean he had to like it.

"Indeed, the problem is actually about this boy's village. He claims to be from Oxford, one of the outlying communities near several of our mines," the aristocrat responded.

Arturia simply nodded in return. It didn't take a genius to figure out where this was going," when was our last communication?"

"Other than this boy, about three days ago, it's a miracle he made it here at all if that was when the attack occurred."

"I would agree. Have you sent anyone to investigate further?"

"No milord, this is why I needed you. The boy was sputtering some nonsense about death razing the town single-handedly. With everything that has happened in the past few months I didn't wish to discount the possibility."

She nodded once again before dismissing the man, leaving only Merlin, Shiro and herself present.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"If what the boy said was right, then I'd say a servant is most likely involved," Shiro replied, earning a nod of agreement from Merlin.

"It is probable that they are trying to draw you out. The assassin you two encountered could have simply been a scout to determine if you were a participant or not," Merlin added quickly.

"Would such a thing be feasible?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, easily so, I take it you know the story of Brutus and his betrayal of the Caesar? Turns out he used a very similar tactic to eliminate his most lethal opponent."

"So, now that we know, what can we do?" Arturia cut in.

"Well, there's only one thing to do. We need to send a small party out to find him. With such little information, it would be next to suicide to try and confront this threat. As I said before, these usually aren't one on one battles, entire kingdoms have fallen for this treasure," Merlin replied

"That sounds reasonable. I've decided, Bedivere, Shiro and I shall accomplish this task," Arturia stated with absolute determination.

"No, absolutely not, I am fine with whoever you want to send but I cannot allow you to come by yourself," Shiro said instantly.

Arturia looked over at him angrily," Why, do you think that such a task is too difficult for me?"

"No, however, I do believe that whoever did this wanted such a result. You should be used to this by now, these people need you dead so it is easiest to draw you out from your fortress first," he replied.

"What makes you think I need stone walls to protect me from my enemies? I can handle myself," She shouted at him as she started to walk away," We leave at dawn!"

Shiro turned back to Merlin who merely shrugged in response. He turned and decided to head into the knight's quarter where the other twelve usually stayed. It wasn't hard to find because he had become pretty familiar with the building while following Arturia around while she attended to various matters. Needless to say, none of the court liked him very much, not that it mattered.

Easily finding the door marked with Bedivere's family crest, he gave a few solid knocks. There was a small shuffling on the other side but other than that there was no response. Shiro sighed inwardly and pushed on the door to find it unlocked. He slipped inside the basic one-chamber room before closing the door behind him. As he entered he heard a sound almost equivalent to a mouse's squeak.

Pushing the sound out of his head, Shiro approached the small bed in one of the corners where the person he assumed to be Bedivere was hidden underneath a woolen blanket. Poking the mound of flesh that was hidden from sight, a low groan erupted. This will be a chore, he thought, to think that Bedivere never had this much trouble rising early on the way back here only to become a sloth now.

"Come on Bed, it's time to get up. We're leaving in an hour to go check out the village of Oxford," he said.

"Mphf," was all the reply he got.

With another sigh, he grabbed one of Bedivere's arms through the blanket and began to shake him violently," I SAID WAKE UP!"

"Ahhh, fine already, I heard you the first time, that was almost worse than the king herself," Bedivere said lightly, although he made no move to get up.

"Do I need to help you further?" Shiro asked impatiently.

"NO!... ummm… just go, I'll be down at the stables in a few minutes," he said hastily.

"Ok, sure," Shiro stated rather sarcastically.

A hand shot out from under the cover and pushed him in the direction of the door. Chuckling lightly, Shiro left the room. If his mind hadn't been elsewhere then he may have noticed the nice smell of flowers that surrounded the room or perhaps the familiar callused softness of Bedivere's hand that was oh so similar to Arturia's skin. However, he remained oblivious to these observations and began the long decent to the courtyard.

To be honest, he felt bad for leaving Arturia here, but if they didn't leave now then he would never get her to stay. Back in the fifth grail war it had been her job to protect him. This time, things were a little different though. Now it was his job to be her sword and do the tasks to risky for her to undertake. Now, he had an excuse to protect her from harm which is exactly what he intended to do.

As he stood waiting near the courtyard's exit, he heard someone approaching. He turned to see who was coming, fully expecting to see Bedivere, but instead was severely disappointed. The man in front of him was yet another lord within the kingdom waiting for Arturia, or rather, King Arthur to solve all of their problems.

Without even giving a greeting the man spoke," Have you any idea where the King might be right now? I thought you might due to the fact that you are like a leach stuck to his side."

Ignoring the comment, Shiro replied," Well, last I saw, he was headed to his room for a few more hours rest."

The man was already shaking his head," I already went by there, one of the guards nearby told me that he left with you about an hour ago."

"You mean he didn't go back!" Shiro blanched.

Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted off to the stable that held Arturia's favorite horse to find it just as he feared. The mount and its saddle were long gone. He should have seen that coming. He had done the same thing when he had first encountered Rider at his old high school. The only difference was that this time it could prove to be slightly more catastrophic. She would most likely try to have a frontal confrontation thinking to deal with this herself whereas Shiro was only trying to find out some information, not kill their opponent. He knew that she could fight and extremely well to, but that wouldn't help her right now. She was no longer enhanced with the added speed and strength of a servant. To say the least, she would probably be cleaved into a thousand little pieces that even Avalon couldn't fix.

Without sparing another moment Shiro turned and ran past the stunned lord. Bedivere had better be ready, he thought, because we need to leave, now.

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Arturia knew that she was getting close. The sun had long since risen into the sky. She knew that Oxford was only a day's ride from Camelot's gates. At the pace she was going though, it would only have taken someone five or six hours. The stale smoke and smell of death also gave credence to her assumptions. It couldn't be that far now.

As she had ridden, she had given a lot of thought to what Shiro had said. He could have been right, about this being a trap and all, but such thing didn't matter to her. She had yet to be bested on the battlefield. At least not since her father's rigorous training. Although she knew this was a serious threat that was not the reason she had chosen to leave her companions behind.

She had left them to teach Shiro not to underestimate her. Arturia knew without a doubt that she could handle herself. She didn't need him having any misconceptions about that. For whatever reason, he had this notion that she required his protection from the so called grail war. It couldn't even be that serious compared to the ones she fought in the past. Not a single army had tried to press Britannia's borders since the Saxon incursion which was nearly five years ago. Such a minor threat, she could easily deal with personally.

She was just in sight of the burned remains of the village now. Arturia could see why the boy had been so frantic. The sight was gruesome to say the least. The bones of the burned dead were scattered everywhere, some with bits of flesh still clinging on. It wasn't hard to tell that these people were completely dismembered as none of the skeletons remained whole.

Slowly walking her horse into the destroyed town, she started to look for any signs of troop movement or bodies. Much to her surprise, she found none. It was like a ghost had perpetrated all of this. She honestly hadn't believed the claim that only one man had razed an entire village but stranger thing had happened in the past.

A growling laugh seemed to seep out of the ground around her as she moved along one of the building. Arturia stopped to look up in time to see a practically invisible blur leaping from the rooftop. At first she was surprised to see such a large man could be held by the decimated building but soon all her thoughts were blown away because of her realization that she was only an inch off the ground.

The pair collided in an awkward roll with the dirt street. The man pressed in on top of her when they stopped in an attempt to subdue her. Reacting quickly, she took her elbow and hit him square in the forehead causing him to back off. The action created the opportunity for her to deliver another solid blow to his face with the back of her heavy chain gauntlet. As he rolled off of her, she stood, unsheathed Excalibur and then stabbed the prone man through the heart with it.

Not sparing a moment, she turned and headed out of the village into one of the nearby fields. Right now she was in enemy territory so being in an area with plenty of hiding places was not something she wanted to do. She stood out in the center of the grassy area and waited, completely expecting half an army to come charging out.

"You know, I should thank you. I was going to kill my master but I guess you took care of that for me didn't you," a voice from behind her said.

Abruptly turning around she stopped stunned. Before her was the same man that she had just killed. There was a hole in his black shirt where the cut had been made and she could visibly see the wound closing at an alarming rate. That kind of regeneration even challenged the power of her holy sheath.

"Amazing isn't it," he said poking the red fleshy wound with a fascinated look on his face," although I must say, it does sting a little."

"I see," Arturia replied," so not only dragons and witches to burn but now immortals to slice into bits. That's just great."

He gave a light laugh. Reaching behind his back, he drew his two demonic looking swords," well I guess I'll have to make you pay for that, princess," he mumbled.

Arturia's brow twitched slightly at the term but didn't have time to respond before she had to block the pair of blades. She leapt back hoping to make some space between the two. However, her opponent had other plans. He kept up relentlessly in his assault forcing her ever backwards. She couldn't believe how fast he was. There was no way it was natural. She could hardly even see it when he moved.

Her instincts saved her once again as the two blades came back in as if to decapitate her. She smiled slightly as she bent backwards, letting the blades fly harmlessly above her. The advantage was hers, with the added momentum of the miss; her opponent would leave his side wide open for a counter. Unfortunately, that's what he was hoping for. He twisted his lower body in order to kick her in the abdomen, just after his swords past. Without time to reach, she caught the blow in all its force.

Arturia closed her eyes trying to quell the pain that exploded in her chest. She lost her breath when she finally came in contact with the ground again, before rolling to a stop on her back. She started to sit up slowly trying to become aware of her surroundings once again. She noticed that the metal guard that had probably saved her life was crushed inward and was currently preventing Avalon from healing the wound, seeing as it was now embedded inside her torso. Suddenly, a foot came forward, pushing her back to the ground.

The red haired man quickly stabbed a blade through her sword arm, pinning it to the hard dirt. She felt the blade pass through her bone like butter. A small stream of blood leaked out of her mouth as she bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out. He kept her pinned with his boot which was slowly collapsing the refined metal plate with frightening ease. Then, reaching down he wrapped a single hand around her neck and started to squeeze the breath out of her.

"Where's your little servant boy?" he asked," tired of him already? Well that's too bad because I'll make sure that he joins you in hell."

It was funny, she thought. At that moment the only thing she could think about was Shiro. He had warned her and even gone so far as to command her to stay away but she hadn't listened. She hadn't considered that maybe she had underestimated this one man army. She hadn't thought that just perhaps, he had been considering her own well being than just trying to force her back. Of course such remorse was useless now. Was this really going to be the end of Britannia's king? Perhaps, I do not understand what that means, she decided bitterly as she felt death knocking on her front door.


	8. Chapter 8

Arturia coughed a little as the pressure around her throat disappeared. She heard the familiar clang of steel on steel. Her mind was barely processing what was happening, it was simply too tired. She felt a pair of strong hands wrapping under her arms and dragging her somewhere. The destination really didn't matter anymore. As she looked around, her eyes were drawn to a pair of fighter's, both with red hair and two blades, each with their own fighting style. Slowly a name began to form in her head. Oh, hey Shiro, she thought, I'm gonna… go back… to sleep…now…

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Shiro ran next to Bedivere's horse which was running at a full gallop. Bedivere had a worried but still stony expression on his face and was focused on holding Arturia on top of the mount. They had barely managed to get there in time. Shiro knew that Avalon could heal her easily but with her metal breastplate becoming part of her body, the sheath couldn't close the wound. He knew that the regenerative power inside the artifact was extreme to say the least but he wasn't willing to bet that it could bring back the dead.

When the pair had arrived, they had come to the unforgiving sight of a red haired man who claimed to be the god Aries leaning over the king and trying to choke the life out of her. Shiro had acted rashly and ran in blindly, hoping to distract their opponent while Bedivere extracted the injured woman. However, their plan was not fool proof which was told by the blood running in a steady stream down Shiro's right arm. In the end their goal was accomplished.

Bedivere suddenly pulled to a stop when Arturia suddenly went limp in his arms and nearly fell off if it hadn't been for Shiro's quick reaction.

"We cannot continue like this. If we do, she might die before we arrive," Bedivere commented.

Shiro nodded in agreement, they had to do something or she would most definitely not make it, sacred sheath or not," Where do you propose we go, it would be suicide to stay out in the open. The two of us could probably take Aries but I'm not willing to take that risk with her here, not in this condition."

Bedivere nodded once," Follow me, I believe there may be a few caves nearby that may prove to be of use to us.

Not sparing anymore time, he adjusted his grip on the unconscious king and urged his horse forward. Shiro followed a little behind them, looking for any sign of pursuit. It wasn't like he was expecting it though, Shiro had cut the man's hamstrings virtually destroying his ability to run after them and just before they made their escape. In hind sight, he should have finished the man but at the time there were more important things to take care of, like Arturia.

Trees continued to fly by as they continued their descent down a small hill that had a steady stream at the bottom. Turning off the path, he was lead to a cave that was the mouth of the small waterway. He carefully pulled Arturia down from the horse and placed her near the spring which created the river. Bedivere quickly joined him holding a large pile of first aid material.

Together the two of them worked silently to remove the demolished armor that their friend still wore. It wasn't long before all of the discarded metal was removed leaving Arturia in her blue and white dress, however there was a discouraging amount of red mixed in as well. Bedivere looked up at him expectantly but then shook his head. It would be a stupid request to ask him to leave, he thought.

Bedivere swiftly pulled out a dagger and began to cut away the top half of his king's dress. A second pair of hands, armed with a cotton cloth began to wash away the blood that caked her stomach. Bedivere looked up at him fully expecting to see a very flustered young man but instead she found something completely different. Shiro's face was deathly serious as he worked. It was the same expression that someone gets when they are only moments away from winning or losing everything. It was the look of a man trying very hard to hide his desperation.

The two continued to work, until at long last they had bandaged both Arturia's chest and arm. Bedivere stood, still looking at Shiro, who was completely oblivious to his scrutiny. He was simply too focused on her at the moment to see the outside world. It was like he expected her eyes to flutter open at any second. At this rate, she won't awaken until tomorrow morning, Bedivere thought. Although the sheath could regenerate wounds within a matter of minutes, the mana required also had to be replenished by the user which was no small thing.

Bedivere shook his head once again and turned to his saddled horse. He began to unpack some of the various things he had grabbed before they left. He pulled three thick blankets off of the saddle and tossed two toward Shiro who caught them without even looking up. He then lifted Arturia of the ground gingerly, like she would shatter if she hit the ground to hard and laid one of the blankets under her before wrapping the other one around her chilled form tightly. As he carefully placed her onto the makeshift bed, Bedivere couldn't help but think of how connected Shiro seemed with Arturia. He was sure beyond any doubt that Shiro had lied about something along the line and he would stop at nothing to find out about the truth.

Half an hour later, Bedivere sat before a small fire casually cooking some strips of venison. Shiro still hadn't moved, although he had visibly relaxed. Arturia's face had turned into a serene smile as she slept peacefully instead of its previous pained one. Picking up one of the pieces of venison, he held it out to Shiro. He didn't even look up but instead just waved it away.

"If you don't eat now, you might regret it later," Bedivere said.

"I'll eat when she does," was his only reply.

A long silence stretched out before Bedivere sighed. Shiro obviously didn't really feel like talking right now so that means he'd have to be blunt.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

This time Shiro looked up at him in surprise," What?"

"Why are you here?" he asked again," I don't understand. You already told us why you liked the king so much but I have this gut feeling that you are either a liar or a fool."

Shiro sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. I guess there's a reason why he is dubbed Sir Bedivere the Wise, he thought," Yes, I suppose that's true. Although I did not lie to you, she does give me strength especially when it matters most. However this isn't something that you have the right to know because it is something that Arturia herself doesn't know yet either."

Bedivere nodded," I see, so what can you tell me then?"

He sat there for a long moment in thought. It didn't take much to see that he was trying to choose his words very carefully, so it was going to be something he thought that Bedivere might not like too much.

"Let me just say this, the life I lived isn't exactly what one would consider normal and in that span of time, I met someone who is extraordinary. I was told that one of us must wait endlessly while the other must pursue endlessly and so that is what I have done. That pursuit has lead me here and I say without doubt that I have no regrets about that decision to leave everything I once knew in order to stand by her side again."

"And so this person you met was Arturia?" Bedivere asked.

Shiro simply nodded to him. He was now looking back at the king who rested peacefully next to him. It was at that moment when Bedivere felt that he had gone somewhere that he did not belong. He felt like an alien who had just unwittingly trespassed onto a planet only to find it far beyond their understanding. He had just been told something deeply personal by a man who barely knew him.

"Go to sleep Bedivere," he said when he finally stood," I'll take first watch."

He watched as Shiro walked out of the cool cave. That man was too trusting of others, he thought, I can see why she likes him so much but I can also see that it's going to get him killed. He shook his head dismissing the thoughts as he lay down on his blanket. Everything hadn't gone quite as planned but for now, everything seemed to be going ok. That was enough for him.

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Lancelot looked over when he felt the bed shift under him. A pair of vibrant blue eyes met his more placid grey ones. She hadn't been back for very long but with the king gone at the moment, Guinevere had decided to make the most of that time. Arturia already knew of her and Lancelot's budding relationship and was in all honesty happy for them. Unfortunately, Guinevere was supposed to be married to the king, so if this kind of thing was found out, then they would be left with no choice but to die or spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Guinevere in all honesty was Arturia's cousin who had agreed to put up an act with Arturia in order to prevent any more risks to the crown. If she had to put a word to it, she was more a diplomat than the queen; however, the two positions were often one and the same. She had always been skilled in the ways of honeyed words, except for on one topic.

"Lance," she began, rubbing a hand across his chest," I think we should leave."

He looked up at her curiously for a moment, "Why would you wish that?"

Her face turned serious and her hand stopped moving, "I'm tired of hiding, besides, Arturia even congratulated us upon hearing of our relationship."

"Yes, I know that she approves but the kingdom would not condone such an action. Even if she agreed, and I mean if, then it would be with the hounds of hell breathing down her neck as well as ours."

"Not if we planned it accordingly," she argued, only a little frustrated.

"And I still have my vow. That is not something that I took with a mind to so easily forsake it."

"There you go, hiding behind that damned vow again," she muttered back before laying down once more.

Guinevere heard a heavy sigh next to her. "Fine, as soon as she gets back then I shall try and talk her into it, but remember that I do not expect a positive answer."

She smiled and kissed his check. She had been dropping hints for him to do so long before today but sometimes he could be just as thick as a brick wall. Now that she had his attention and doing what she asked, it felt like a puff of fresh air had entered her life. Their relationship could no longer be kept in the dark, she thought; this is how it's supposed to be.

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Shiro frowned up at the slowly rising sun. He hadn't bothered to switch guards seeing as it was pointless. The morning was beautiful and bright with a very thin mist covering the surrounding forest floor around them. It was wonderful to say the least. However, to Shiro, it had no right to be.

In spite of everything that had happened so far between them, Arturia had refused to accept a simple request to stay away from a fight. She had even opted to leave her only allies behind with no form of warning. It showed that she still did not fully put her faith in him but that was expected of course. Arturia was a ruler who was forced to be tough, stony and hard headed. That wasn't what he saw in the act though. What he saw was stupidity. What he saw was his own mistake crashing in on someone else.

The truth was Shiro was mad at himself for not thinking of the possible reactions to his request. She had never seen a servant other than himself and had almost never been defeated in battle. For her to think that she could be bested by a singular opponent was simply outrageous from her perspective. So, the only conclusion was that it was his fault. Her injury, Bedivere's worry, her demolished armor, everything was solely his responsibility due to his lack of foresight. It was almost exactly the same as his first experience. Only this time he was the servant and she was the master.

He smirked and ran a hand through his dirty, brown hair. On top of that, I haven't managed a bath in almost a week, he thought. That wasn't much of a surprise either, considering the time period. There wasn't much time allocated for such activities, although Arturia always bathed in the morning when circumstance allowed for such things. During those times, Shiro would stand guard a few dozen yards away and out of sight because he still felt that she needed her privacy as much as the next person. When she was finished, they would go back to the castle together leaving only enough time for Shiro to wash his face and hands. Right now there were more important things to worry about though.

Soft steps behind him alerted Shiro to the presence of another of his party. It's probably Bedivere, he thought, he is most likely wondering why I did not switch with him last night. He let out a silent breath, trying to come up with some reason for his actions as he looked over his shoulder. His mind melted into butter almost instantly.

A pair of vibrant green eyes met with his golden ones. Her hair was slightly tangled and was freely blowing in the light breeze. The only thing clothing her body was the bandaging which made sort of a skin tight tunic around her entire torso along with what remained of her dress. She looked slightly downcast, almost like a child going to tell their parents of some mistake or transgression. In that moment, Shiro forgot his anger towards her. It didn't seem to matter that much anymore. She stopped directly in front of him looking at his face. He couldn't remember when he had stood up to meet her halfway.

"Shiro, I-," she began.

He could hear her breath hitch in surprise when he suddenly pulled her close in a warm hug. Shiro hadn't thought about the action at all, it seemed like the only natural thing to do in the situation. The pair stood there as the moment stretched on. He honestly didn't want to let go but after a while he deemed it necessary.

He pushed her back to arms length and said, "I'm glad you're safe."

With that he walked into the cave leaving Arturia standing there with a completely stunned and bewildered expression on her face. She couldn't think of anything as he walked away. She had been expecting him to be furious with her. She was obviously the one who had screwed up. She had refused to listen to the person who probably had the most experience on that kind of situation. Her father would have virtually confined her in a lead brick if she had done something stupid like that. For him to react like that was simply beyond her.

Shiro had just forgiven her without a second thought or demand. I made him worry over me because I was selfish and wanted to deal with the problem myself, she thought. This is simply my fault, she decided as she turned to follow him in.

Everything was as she had left it, plus one Shiro Emiya who was silently packing up some of their supplies. Bedivere crouched over a small fire, shifting some food in a small pan over it. He spared a glance up to survey his companions before smiling contentedly. Neither had returned fuming mad nor with any extra injuries to be tended so he assumed everything had gone well. Then a small flash of light caught his attention and when he looked up, he saw Shiro holding Arturia's armor. Only now it was no longer demolished. It seemed polished like new, without even a single scratch. He then laid it next to her before walking back to the caves exit.

"You know that was irrevocably stupid don't you?" Bedivere finally said.

She simply nodded in reply, looking absently into the fire.

"You know that you would have died if he hadn't been such a paranoiac?"

She nodded again.

"You know that he was worried as hell about you?"

Arturia looked up exasperated," Yes, Bedivere I understand that this was a bad decision, now what are you getting at."

"What I'm getting at is that your mercenary man over there takes some serious commitments or he honestly cares about you. If I were in his position right now, I would have chewed you out like no other. Perhaps next time you should stop and consider more than your own mind before you go doing something rash," he said.

She nodded for the last time, accepting the ridicule. It was absolutely true that he should have screamed every breath out of his lunge, but instead he hadn't. The course of events played through her head again. She could feel that part of the puzzle was still missing. It didn't make any sense for him to care about her on a more personal level. To be honest, she wasn't quite sure if it was a good thing. Although she would admit that she cared about him a great deal to, but only to herself. It was almost like he reminded her of something in the past that you couldn't quite place. It was as if a memory was trying to push its own way past a barrier in her mind. It was something that was extremely irritating but comforting at the same time.

"That I should, Bedivere," she said and reached out a hand to accept the piece of bacon he passed her way," That I should."


	9. Chapter 9

Kotomine walked causally through the forest. He wasn't really that worried by the fact that three of his scouting parties had yet to return which totaled to almost thirty men. He didn't care that he was by himself to face this seemingly disastrous threat. Nor did it matter that they had already sustained several casualties before they had even crossed the border from Saxon to British territory. These men were simply useless as was Morgana and her precious schemes. Of course she and this King Arthur had absolutely no clue that the kingdom would be utterly demolished shortly after both of their demises.

Not long ago, the sweet sound of dying men had pointed him in the right direction. It was only testament to the fact that the lush green of the surrounding wood was now dotted with bodies and the area tainted red with blood. It was obvious that they had been slain with a pole arm of some kind, probably a spear in fact.

It came as no surprise when a man with black hair and pale skin stepped out before him. He was brandishing a long white spear that had a blade of what seemed to be solid silver. He could tell that the man was of Japanese origin but he couldn't quite place the name or era as he hadn't paid enough attention in history as a child.

"So, you're the one who's been following me all this time. I would have expected better planning from one of the caster class," the man said.

Kotomine just smirked at the remark. The man was a fool, to think that he would mistake him for a servant at such a close range to. Well, let him die with that thought in mind, I have no time to explain magic to an amateur right now," Maybe, but I was expecting better perception from one of my countrymen."

Almost instantly, the white weapon flashed and stabbed at Kotomine's head. The blade just barely grazed his cheek as he moved to the right. He quickly closed the distance between them and filled his hand with mana to strengthen the blow. Suddenly, the shaft of the spear reversed directions and gave a loud crack as it came into contact with Kotomine's shoulder.

He stumbled a little to the side but managed to keep his balance. The other man smirked," Well, you're far better than I expected, this might actually be fun."

Kotomine had no time to reply as he was soon forced to back up furiously to avoid the wild stabs at his body. This man could be very useful in the future. With a skill like that it would make my job much easier. He grunted lightly as his back hit a tree. His reaction was just shy of perfect. The spear once again came in for his face which Kotomine managed to catch with his hands only inches before it penetrated his eye.

"It seems that we have once again reached an impasse," he said when the lancer failed to pull his weapon away.

"Indeed, I believe that I have underestimated you Caster," the black haired man replied.

Kotomine sighed," Will you please stop calling me caster, I'm not a freaking servant you idiot."

The man blanched slightly but kept his composure. The tension in his body melted away as he lowered the spear," I see so that means you must have a contract with someone. No normal human could keep up with a Servant like that."

Kotomine nodded in return," So, now that we understand each other how about your name, you may call me Kotomine."

"And I'm Kato Kiyomasa," he replied.

"Well today it seems that you have gotten very lucky. The reason why I'm here is to ensure that a certain pair of participants in this Grail war dies without fail. So I believe that we may be of some use to one another."

Kato was already shaking his head," Sorry man, but I can't do that. You know about the war and the rules clearly dictate that any witness who is a non participant must be 'Disposed' of."

That was his only warning before the spear moved to attack him once again. The weapon thudded into the tree causing it to shake violently. Two things happened at that moment, the tree split in half and then the pair of combatants heard a very long string of cursing coming from above them. Both men stopped instantly and looked up just in time to see a large red haired man fall out of it still spewing curses as he landed on his face. He picked himself up off the ground before he pulled a pair of vicious looking black blades off of his back.

"Oh, believe me, you two will be paying for that in full," he muttered

Both men stood there completely stunned at the development. Neither of them was expecting another Servant there and they should have been able to sense him easily. This man was obviously no assassin. There was no reason he could have snuck up on them. He stood there looking at them rather irritated. Kato shot a quick look to Kotomine, the meaning was obvious. He had quickly rethought the previous arrangement and now found it to his liking. Kotomine nodded once before looking back to the intruder.

"Alright then, now that you two are done, I can slaughter you both," He said, this time with a smile crossing his face.

Without saying anything more, Aries charged the two men with a sword directed at each one. As he expected the one so called Kotomine leapt off to the side, leaving the lancer to fend for himself. It was typical of wizards though. When things went bad they'd almost always save their own skin first. So, with that in mind, Aries chose to focus both his blades on Kato.

Aries launched a horizontal slash toward the man's stomach but unfortunately his ears were greeted with the sound on steel on steel. Kato quickly countered by twisting the spear in his hands in an attempt to smash his opponents face in with the pole. Aries easily ducked under the assault to continue on the offensive but was met by the other fighters' foot just under his chin. The force of the blow sent him rolling backwards. Just before he made contact with one of many trees, Aries pushed his feet out and used the solid wooden trunk as a springboard in order to fly well over his opponents head. Landing behind him he rushed at his enemy's exposed back.

Only Kato's reflexes saved him from being slaughtered then and there. As he dove into a forward summersault, the air above him split because of the swords passing over him. Now both of the fighters stood several feet apart from each other, both of whom were obviously reassessing the situation. Taking anyone with weapon skills of this caliber lightly would definitely prove to be a fatal mistake.

"What's wrong, I thought you said this would be a slaughter?" Kato prodded.

"Pft, and I thought you said this would be fun," Aries replied with another wicked grin," it's a shame when someone as skilled as yourself doesn't see the beauty in war."

Kato spit in the dirt while his enemy mocked him. Such a statement would only serve to suggest that the lance wielder didn't enjoy his entire life's work and therefore did not deserve its existence. Both aspects of the statement were far from true, he just really didn't smile that much.

Unfortunately for Kato, he was too caught up in his thoughts to notice Aries had moved again until the very last second. He managed to deflect the blow from going through his heart but instead the blade easily punctured his right arm. He hastily jumped back, trying to ignore the burning sensation and focused on blocking the relentless attacks. Each time the black blades crossed with his own white spear, it sent a wave of pain up his arm which was barely able to support the weight of each blow. Such a situation like this left only a single option, which was to get out of there as fast as possible.

Aries obviously know that too and so he was being extra careful to leave absolutely no openings for the man to leave. He could feel the weakening strength behind his foe's blocks which only served to encourage him to continue. However, sometimes such things as bloodlust would prove to be detrimental to one's health. Just as the other man's guard finally broke, Aries felt a hand press against his back. The sudden awareness it brought about was almost instantly shattered as he felt his connection with the world's energy being ripped into pieces. He fell to a knee as the burning pain rushed up his spin while destroying almost every magic circuit which was currently active. To make matters worse, the lancer in front of him wasted no time in continuing their fight.

The lance sliced into Aries hand as he moved it to block the blow headed straight for his neck. He wrenched his hand off the end of the weapon and retrieved his two blades that had at some point been dropped to his sides. He instantly sheathed the pair and dove to the side when a second strike came in. He knew without doubt that he could escape although he didn't like the prospect of doing so. He rapidly made his way through the forest as his body began to relax while the pain faded into nothing.

"Damn, guess this means I owe someone an apology," he thought out loud.

Although he still thought that with some proper planning he could take the two down, a blow similar to the previous one experienced probably would not bode well. Though it hadn't been that long ago, he could already tell that attack had essentially obliterated his regenerative power and cut off a significant portion of his mana supply but it was still not enough to make him disappear. Such a crippling blow could prove to be a problem later if he could not find a solution to it. So, following that logic, he could only turn to the last two participants in the war. One of whom he had very recently beaten senseless and almost killed. He could also say that without doubt, they would probably both want him dead and very quickly. With a shrug, he slowed to a walk; the only way to find out was to go he guessed, while he trudged along.

Back at the clearing, Kotomine stood with his hand on Kato's shoulder giving him a rather stern look.

"We are not going after him," he repeated.

Kato just stood there looking at him incredulously," and why is that, it would only make sense to kill him now while he is weak, besides it isn't like we were going to let him live to begin with."

"Obviously, but that man can still serve a purpose to us and if not he will be dead regardless," Kotomine replied wearing a smug grin.

"I don't follow."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed that," he shrugged out feigning surprise," When one person is weak, where do they go?"

"Well, tactically speaking to your friends but he hasn't got any here," the lancer replied.

"Exactly, so when you have no allies, you go to the next best thing which is…" he trailed off, looking for the other man to finish.

"Well, that would be a mutual enemy I suppose but I still do not see how this is working in our favor," he finally replied.

"Yes, so he will bring information on our whereabouts to this King Arthur and his servant which will in turn cause him to leave his castle, thus making his destruction much easier."

"I see so rather than sending in a few people to sneak into a castle where you could lose nothing but a few select men, you deliberately let our enemy have vital information, a new card to play on the field and an obvious warning about a trap… Your logic is lost on me," the lancer said giving Kotomine an un-amused look.

Kotomine face palmed and turned around. Sometimes you just couldn't educate stupid people. He wouldn't bother explaining himself any further to his new found ally but instead just continued to lead the way back to the main camp of his Saxon army. It would only be a couple of days until they reached the border onto British land and not long after that, they would be sure to gather plenty of attention. He had no time to waste let alone on something as stupid as planning with a subordinate. Besides, it wasn't like this man would last that long either. For this plan to work it had to be only him and Emiya left. Everyone else including his precious Saber would have to be removed from the picture, and so far everything had been going no less than perfect.

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Shiro sat between the two swordsmen prepared to interfere at a moment's notice. The pair had been sparring with their tongues for at least an hour if not more. They were starring at one another intently waiting for some sign that the other would break. Though it came as no surprise to Shiro and also a matter of great curiosity, of course it wasn't something he should have a say in either.

Not long after Arturia and company had arrived back at Camelot, Lancelot had approached them with a very sensitive question and Shiro was almost certain that they were all going to die the moment it had left his lips. He had come asking to speak with them in private which alone told that something was off. He had gotten to the point rather quickly and simply asked," Guinevere and I wish to leave."

After that was said Arturia simply sat there starring at him for a long moment like she couldn't understand what she was hearing. Both men had backed up into their own respective corners fully expecting to die. To their surprise, Arturia simply gave a curt nod. Pulling out a map, she had begun to point out a course which she had thought best suited to the task of removing them quickly and quietly from her kingdom's territory to ensure their safety. The act would probably be viewed as treason to the entire world however there wouldn't be any real 'search' for the two runaway's, which inevitably lead to the current debate.

"Ireland," Lancelot growled.

"Whales," Arturia muttered back, leaning forward slightly.

"I believe that you are mistaken. Ireland has a wonderful spring season and it should be the optimal destination for me and Guin."

"I disagree, Whales has some of the most beautiful shorelines, albeit a bit rock, but they are present all year not just one season," she quickly shot back

At this point they both were leaning over so far that their foreheads were pressed firmly together. As one the pair looked at Shiro.

"Sir Shiro, tell me which country would you prefer to live in," Lancelot asserted

"Yes, Shiro, tell us," Arturia said with an obviously threatening undertone.

"Bu-…"He stuttered trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't annoy anyone.

"SEE!? I told you that Whales was a much better destination," Arturia suddenly shouted," Shiro even testified to it."

"Hey, wa-…"Shiro tried to cut in.

"WHY!? Why have you sided with her instead of me," Lancelot began hollering, poking a finger at Shiro repeatedly.

Just before he could open his mouth the door opened behind them and Lady Guinevere entered the room. Everything seemed to stop as they all looked over at her, before everyone with the exception of Shiro burst out laughing. Some things he just couldn't understand. Arturia stood up and moved across the room to embrace the pair before they left.

"I hereby grant the two of you permission to run off wherever you please, so long as I am informed about it before you depart," Arturia announced in a mock leader tone.

Both nodded their acceptance before wordlessly leaving. Shiro stood and helped her gather various things off of the table. The previous conversation had got him thinking. He knew without a doubt he would make her mad but in the end it was probably worth it.

"Arturia," he said, trying to get her attention.

"Hm," she responded quietly.

"I have something serious that I feel we must discuss as well," he started taking in a deep breath.

This time she did look up at him, a small scowl playing across her features. He could tell that she already knew what this was about.

"I want you to promise that you will not go after any more servants by yourself. You should understand from our last experience that one is not to be taken lightly and you may not be so lucky next time," he said rather quickly.

"Do you mean to say that my skills with a sword are inadequate?" She said, her frown growing even further.

"Well, honestly, yes. Against opponents like this you will almost never be capable of fighting one by yourself let alone deal with their allies at the same time."

She stopped and thought for a brief moment before nodding," I will accept this under two conditions."

Shiro looked at her in surprise at first but then caught a look at something rather mischievous in her eye. He gave a large swallow before nodding to show he was listening.

"One, you help me to train in order to be able to compete with these so called Servants and second…" she drifted off, suddenly unsure.

Shiro motioned that she continue with whatever her second request was.

She took a deep breath before saying;" Second, I want to know what your wish from the grail is."

Shiro just looked at her for a moment, before he almost started laughing. She looked taken aback as his mirth began to rumble up from his stomach and onto his face," You know," he said with a wink," you could have just asked. As for your first request, I think that it would be my pleasure."

She smiled lightly before letting him take several parchments and inkwells from her hands. As they walked down the hall a comfortable silence settled between the two. They had become so accustomed to one another's presence that there usually wasn't a need for words. Things were almost exactly the same as when they were partners back in Fuyuuki City.

"Well, to answer your second request. I don't have a wish," he suddenly said.

Arturia shot him a curious look as they walked obviously not understanding," then why are you here? That makes no sense," She asked.

"Ahhh, but that wasn't part of the deal now was it," he taunted her," Fear not though, I believe that you will soon understand your own question so you won't need me to answer it for you."

He threw her another wink and picked up his pace before she could reply. She stood there stunned for a moment before rushing to catch up with him.

"Hey, wait a minute," She shouted, as she started to jog after him.

He simply looked over his shoulder and laughed always staying just ahead of her as they made their way up to the kings chamber


	10. Chapter 10

**_AN:_**_ Hey all you people, just so you know school is starting soon for me so updates may or may not slow down, just depends on how my classes go, just figured I'd give you a little warning. Anyway, feel free to PM and ask questions!_

_Enjoy!_

The crisp morning was beyond refreshing. The first rays of sunlight were starting to peak out over the trees in the distance along with a chill breeze that was enough to put a very serene feel to the air. The morning had that same distinct smell of trees and fresh water, which reminded him of the few times that his father had brought him camping back when he was a child. It was so distracting that he very close to forgetting where he was. Along with the other presence that was with him.

The glint of the blade instantly brought him back to reality which left him just enough time to jump off to one side. The sharpened metal clanged against stone where he was just standing. The opposing blade quickly shifted directions and made a vicious swing towards his side. If it had been a weaker man then the blow would have cut him in two but his single white blade easily stopped it before any damage was done.

The other combatant leapt back to make some space but Shiro made no move to follow. He had been playing the defensive side for the better part of the morning and he saw no reason to change now. When the pair of fighters had first started their sparring, he had easily overwhelmed his opponent with shear speed rather than any form of skill. Of course now that he thought about it, that outcome should have been expected or at least foreseen as a possibility, however, the thought hadn't occurred to him until it had already happened. He was just so use to these battles being so one sided and not in his favor, that this was almost disappointing.

Although he could tell that he wasn't the only one feeling such shame. Now Arturia was beginning to circle him in an attempt to flank him. Shiro didn't move to follow but instead listened to the intensity of her feet hitting the ground. If there was one thing that he had learned about her fighting style, it was the feet. In a solid defense they were flat against the ground, but when she attacked, she instantly shifted her weight to her toes so that she could place more power behind each swing with little resistance. That distinct clink of shifting armor was his only warning.

Shiro did a quick about face before blocking a slash at his chest. He could tell that she was slowly tiring but she would probably never admit it, especially to him. Arturia took another backhanded chop at him. With some precise calculating, Shiro deflected the blade up above his head. As expected, Arturia wasted no time in turning the deflection into and over handed chop designed to pretty much destroy your opponents face. Steel hit steel once again when Shiro made an x over his head to catch the holy blade.

Arturia continued to hold the stance for a long moment until their eyes met. Shiro could see the sheer determination to hit him at least once before the day was out, but he could also see her frustration. The tell-tale shaking of her body was a sign of immense exhaustion as was the slowing pace of her sword. Strange as it was, he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. Even though she wasn't as strong as when she was a servant she was still Arturia, or Saber if one would prefer, inside and out.

"I think that we have done enough for today," Shiro said, allowing his blades to disappear into nothingness.

Arturia looked at him curiously for a moment before saying between breathes," But Shiro… should we not… continue… at least until I can hit you… just once?"

"Oh, so I have made you mad now have I," he taunted lightly," however such anger will have to wait. I can tell that you're tired and we have been out here for almost four hours and the sun is just beginning to rise, you need to sleep sometime."

Arturia simply nodded her head. She sheathed her blade and walked past him toward a side door that lead into one of the castles main halls. As Shiro walked behind her, he noticed a sort of lazy droop in her normally strong shoulders. He smirked a little at the thought of her being this worn out before the day had even started. A majority of the town was still asleep, although it wouldn't be for much longer. The pair made their way to a familiar door that led to her sleeping chamber. Without a word, Shiro pushed it open to allow them to pass.

Walking to the center of the room, Shiro turned to look at Arturia. He waved his hand motioning for her to come closer. She hesitated for the slightest moment but decided to follow through with his request, unsure of his intentions. When she was within arm's length, Shiro's hands grabbed her waist and forced her to turn around. Instantly, she felt warm blood rushing into her cheeks as she started to blush.

"Sh-Shiro, w-what are y-you doing," She stammered

"Oh, not much," he replied as his hands found the first buckle securing her chest plate

"I c-can do this myself y-you know," She squeaked out again, trying all the while to keep her voice steady

"Yes, I know. It's just that the way you walked up here was making me tired and I don't even have to sleep," he said

Arturia simply nodded as the two halves of her chest piece were lifted away from her body and placed on a stand where she normally put them. He silently stepped back behind her and began to work on her arms after he asked her to lift them. It wasn't that she was reluctant for such contact, but it was something that was completely unexpected. She had never before had anyone help her with armor or clothing seeing as it would easily give away her secret which only served to heighten her discomfort. Although it was partially her own fault because she had proposed to commence training at one in the morning so that no one would see them.

As the metal plating around her body gradually disappeared, so too did her own embarrassment, it wasn't like anyone would see them. After a few moments the shell that was one covering her right arm joined her breastplate. Soon after came the left arm. Arturia's face began to heat up once again when Shiro moved his hands to the buckles around her hips but only moments later, they were gone along with her dress-like leg guards. She walked over to the edge of her bed at sat. Shiro appeared in front of her just before she could lay back and shot her a mischievous smile. Without waiting for any form of response, he knelt, picked up her foot, and removed the heavy metallic boot that covered her creamy white skin. She felt a shiver move steadily through her body when he playfully brushed his fingers down her calf.

He then switched over to the next boot, easily pulling it off but just as Arturia felt her foot slide free, the wooden door burst open. Shiro instantly shot up to a standing position and both of their faces began to shine with red. A familiar laughter filled the room. The intruder stepped into the chamber without any more hesitation.

"What so funny Merlin, I told you to wait for me!" a voice shouted down the hallway

"Nothing! Nothing, just our two 'companions' here were getting a little bit closer," he said back, with a grandfatherly grin spreading across his face," Now children there will be plenty of time for that later, and I need to borrow Shiro anyways. Arturia, the rest of the day awaits!"

Before either of them could react, Merlin was dragging Shiro out by his ear and Bedivere was standing at the door with an evil grin of his face. As Shiro and the old wizard left, he would have sworn that he heard Arturia groan as Bedivere told her that she was needed for court.

"So boy," the older man began, giving Shiro a close look," how are things between you and Arturia?"

"L-look, that wasn't what you think," Shiro said, raising his hands up in defense

"Damn, kids sure do move quickly these days," he continued, completely ignoring Shiro, however he did shoot him a telling wink

Taking a quick sigh of relief, Shiro asked," What's this all about anyway?"

"Well, I decided to do some digging about your circumstances, most of which does not add up."

"How so?"

"Well, first off Arturia has absolutely no connection to you or anything in the future for that matter, so how were you summoned if you are not currently supposed to exist?"

"That's an easy one," Shiro started," the throne of Hero's which contains the servants transcends time so even if a hero came after the current Heaven's Feel, then you can still be summoned into that time."

Merlin nodded in understanding," Second, why did this particular summoning need work from two sides rather than just the one. If Arturia had summoned you normally, or on purpose for that matter, then you would have appeared before she had left the circle."

Shiro nodded in return," That isn't something I would know. I am far from being a first class magus so summoning techniques and rituals are far beyond my understanding."

"Most importantly though," Merlin said, stopping to look at him," There isn't supposed to be a Heaven's Feel going on right now, let alone in this continent."

"How could you tell that?" Shiro asked

"Simple really, I followed the origin of the spell which ended up going somewhere very far off to the East. Which the more I looked at the trail the more it made sense, the network of magic lines which were set up from the first time are still partially present. That only means that an insane amount of energy was required to sustain it, thereby leading to the conclusion that it was either an amateur's job or a test trial. I tend to think the latter but following that logic it means that this one shouldn't even be happening," he concluded, shooting Shiro a very serious look," In other words, you simply shouldn't exist."

Shiro gave a hard swallow. So if this wasn't meant to happen, then someone else forced it using the old network which had been put in place for the so called 'test trial'. Someone out there initiated it and caused this to happen without the creators control or even knowledge thereof. But that was insane, the amount of prana and shear power that would take would be almost impossible to achieve unless you were a god. But that could only mean… it could mean…," Wait a minute, are you trying to say that the Holy Grail is trying to summon itself?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say. That is also why I need you Shiro. You were in the Fifth Heaven's Feel correct?"

Shiro nodded an affirmative," Yes, but me and my servant destroyed the Grail because it had gained some sort of corruption inside of it. I wouldn't be able to explain it even if I wanted to."

"That's what I was afraid of. As you said, the Throne of Hero's transcends time. If the Grail were to work on the same basis, which would be most likely so that it could bring or place someone at a given point in time, then…"

"Then that corruption would be able to travel through time as well to all of the previous versions." Shiro finished for him.

"Exactly, I have also discovered that the other participant, whom Arturia described to me as red haired and wielding two demonic blades, matches that of the servant known as Aries from the first war. With its in mind, I think that the Grail is gathering the winners from both the future and present to fulfill its own wish. However, I have no clue as to what that desire could be."

"I do," Shiro said grimly. He looked at Merlin once again," Angra Mainyu wants to be born."

ЊЊЊЊЊЊ ЊЊЊЊЊЊ

Arturia sat on her low bearing throne. It had been a long day so far but showed no signs of stopping. Merchants, requesting the raise of a levy here or reduction of one there, farmers, complaining of bad yields or supplies, and others still were asking for the castle to provide them shelter for the winter because of several recent events, all of these problems to deal with in a mere few hours to keep someone else happy. There was a reason why she never smiled in court or in front of anyone besides her friends.

Almost on a will of its own, her mind kept drifting back to this morning. Shiro's fighting style was insanely risky but still effective enough to keep him alive. Inside her mind she was picking apart all of his flaws and openings which could one day prove fatal. It wasn't that she was being sadistic or morbid; it was simply the desire to beat him while seeing them both improve at the same time. During this entire thought process, she was also listening to a man complain of supply shortages.

"… I believe that this problem will only exist this year or until the town of Oxford can be fully reestablished," an older gentlemen, by the name of Gerald continued explaining.

He was here on the basis that the castle held extra supplies such as raw metals that could be given out to the citizens as a temporary replacement for a bad harvest or having a mining town close which was the current situation. Gerald hailed from a small blacksmithing community not far from Oxford which had subsequently supplied most of their metals. Obviously, that could no longer happen because all the villagers happened to be dead.

Arturia gave a quick nod," I see. I believe that we would be capable of sending a small supply, however it may not be as much as you're folk are used to. Much of the Iron we had stored was used in the previous campaign to craft weapons and armor, but I will send what we can spare."

Gerald gave a quick bow and was about to reply his thanks when someone started shouting outside the main doorway. The few guards in the room visibly tensed and Gerald shot a questioning look to his king, who was now standing with a hand near his blade. Turning his attention to the door, he felt the room's atmosphere change. What was once calm and regal, was now like a bound coil ready to break at a moment's notice. Arturia's gaze never drifted away from the wooden doors. The shouts increased as the disturbance grew closer. Armor could be heard shuffling on the other side.

Suddenly, a familiar sounding shout came through the door," Move!"

Almost immediately after that the wooden barrier bent inward as something smashed at it from the outside. It promptly gave way on the second impact which allowed one very dazed guard to fly into the audience chamber and hit Gerald square in the chest, which brought both men to the ground. No one even bothered to look at the unconscious men who were sprawled out of the floor.

"Oi, what do you have to do just to get a damn audience around here," the red haired man said, striding confidently into the room.

Arturia tensed at seeing the man before her. She could remember his smug face clearly as the image was planted in her mind by his swords, which still remained strapped across his back. His smug smile never faded an inch even as she pulled Excalibur partway out of Avalon. Still he walked on until he stood a few feet before the gilded chair.

"Relax, gentlemen, if I were here to show you across the river Styx then most of you would have departed already. The news I bring may be slightly worse than that," the large warrior said almost casually.

"Then say what you came for and make it quick," Arturia growled back. She wasn't very fond of this man, in case anyone wanted to know.

"Oh, so the little man has a sharp tongue, what a surprise. Anyway, I have come to warn you about a group of Saxons coming down from the Northern Germanic Plains. I decided to be nice and let my neighbor know of such an event."

This statement only served to renew the tension surrounding the room. Both the mockery of their monarch and the thought of another war set several who were present on edge. Small murmurs began to break out across the room as more people started realizing what had been said.

However Arturia ignored them all," What proof of this do you have?"

The large man scratched his head," Well, to be honest I really didn't think that far," he admitted causing several in the crowd to burst out laughing," I would be willing to strike you a deal though. I will agree to stay here under your watch so that you may send out several scouts as you chose to investigate the claim. If they find nothing, then I'll let you kill me but if you do find the Saxon's then I simply request your apology."

"Fine, I can agree to this," Arturia said after a moment's thought. A simple apology would cost her nothing and this was a large risk o wager on simple pride.

An invisible smile pulled at her lips, when she saw Shiro's head peak around the corner and in the room. She had been wishing for him to show up all day and here he is right before its end.

"In fact, I believe that my scout has just walked in," she said before Shiro could disappear once more," As of right now, this day of court is adjourned. Any further requests will need to wait until tomorrow so that I may deal with this problem."

Instantly, a sigh of relief went through the room and the tension faded. She gave a courser look around the room to ensure that no one was harmed. She motioned Shiro to her side who then proceeded to show their special guest to his newfound room in accordance with her directions. She shot him a sideways glance at him and smiled at seeing his slightly lost expression. Yes, it was simply another day in court.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: I'm sorry this is so late, as I said school started so this is kind of a whenever I have time thing… and no one decided to tell me that taking robotics chemistry and Human Anatomy at the same time was a horrible decision, so for the love of all that is good, if anyone you know tries something like this, either force them not to or destroy them now XD_

"So, that's how I got myself into this boiling pit of shit," the red haired man finished

Arturia sat there looking at the man. It wasn't hard to tell that she didn't believe him although no one could blame her. The man had nearly killed her and broke down the front gate of the castle to 'talk' to her. He had also slaughtered an entire village of innocents. Then he burned it to the ground. Oh and he had stabbed Shiro in the shoulder but hey other than that, he was trustworthy. I think…

Shiro sat across from the burly warrior trying to decide what to think. On one hand he could be leading them into a horrible trap that would end in both Arturia's and his destruction, but if he was telling the truth, then it could be just as bad or worse if they chose not to act. He was beginning to see why Arturia never smiled in court. Decision making was grueling.

After a few more moments of silence, Arturia spoke up," And how is it that we are supposed to trust you exactly?"

The man simply nodded back," A sensible question, to tell the truth I was almost sure that I would have been dead by now, but I suppose no one lied when it came to your… generosity."

"What's your name?" Shiro suddenly asked

For a split second the captive looked taken aback, however it was only for a moment," I have been called many names, but most refer to me as Aries."

Arturia's eyes widened, briefly in shock. When she finally managed to regain her composure, she asked," Aries as in the god of war?"

"One and the same but no one has used that title since I was alive and far be it from me to become a god. I just got lucky enough to strike a contract with Ayala, who then decided to sick me on a few thousand different people."

Now it was Shiro's turn to nod," I see, wouldn't be the first time it's happened and definitely not the last."

Ayala had always used humans to clean up her own messes. It was no surprise that one of the Greek gods was really one of her many tools. It always ended in a few thousand deaths or some natural calamity in order to 'dispose' of any evidence. However these actions sometimes made even bigger problems for the human race. Not that anyone cared though. They were just humans after all.

Suddenly Arturia stood from her stool,"I think that it is best that I take some time to think on this decision. Such things should not be determined lightly lest the entire people be disturbed over absolutely nothing."

Shiro took the cue to stand. The pair walked out of the small holding cell and began to walk away from the dungeon. Shiro loathed admitting it but the area was just like the story books, and if you know your stuff then you could probably tell that this place wasn't fun to be in. Though it shouldn't have surprised him, he had hoped that perhaps Arturia was a little more lenient when it came to prisoners. Unfortunately, it was quite the opposite. He did understand to a certain degree but that meant nothing about liking it.

The pair came to a stop in front of a large metal doorway that served as the prisons only entrance and exit. Shiro casually slammed his fist against the cool steel, eliciting a thunderous boom in reply. Shortly after, the door was opened by a large burly man who served as the castles jailor. The man gave a small nod of respect for his king when the pair walked by before wordlessly returning to his game of cards with some of the other guards.

"I still don't know," Arturia said as they walked

"I don't either. One thing is certain though. If we ignore this kind of threat and it turns out to be real, then we will be pretty screwed," Shiro replied.

The statement was one which held a truth that Arturia knew all to well. To ignore ones enemy is the same as falling on your sword and in some cases worse. In the end the decision should have been an easy one, risk a few men to scout or risk an entire kingdom in the name of the past. The only problem was who they were willing to send. At the moment, the castle was largely empty.

Not long ago, most of the soldiers had left for their families and hometowns seeing as one of the kingdoms many wars had just ended. A majority of the round table was gone, either dead or on a diplomatic assignment of some kind as all knights must be expected to do. With both of these aspects, it left them rather shorthanded on skilled soldiers. In the end, she would probably have to send Bedivere or Shiro, perhaps even both but Bedivere was an invaluable advisor to her and she simply didn't want Shiro to leave even though she wouldn't admit it. If she sent him then it seems inevitable that something terrible would happen.

"Well, for now it doesn't matter, it can be decided in the morning, after practice of course," Shiro said

"BUT SHIRO…," Arturia groaned out

He simply laughed and continued forward until she finally moved in a lazy pursuit," Seriously though, you should go to sleep now. I can tell that you're tired and I'm not even looking at you."

He stumbled slightly when she punched him half-heartedly in the back before she stopped at a familiar stairway. Immediately noticing that her companion had kept walking, she spoke once again," Shiro, where are you going?"

"Hm," he replied, called back to reality by her voice," Oh, I don't really know. I figured that I'd go walk around the castle for a bit. It's a beautiful place and I haven't had any real chance to look around or meet the people."

"I see," Arturia replied. It was obvious that he wanted to be alone and there was no reason that he shouldn't. From the best of her knowledge he had been forcibly ripped out of his entire life to be placed in a massive war for peoples he knew next to nothing about. Besides, it's not like he was leaving the country or something.

So with a nod from Britannia's ruler, Shiro turned around and started walking into the endless maze that was 5th Century architecture. Both people had known that he hadn't actually cared about what the castle looked like. Even as he walked Shiro's vision was being washed away by the thoughts swirling in his mind, all of the doubts, all of the worries, all of the suppressed emotions of the past few weeks were coming back into view. It goes without saying that it was with a vengeance as well.

It was times like this that he wished he could talk to Rin. Whatever the problem was, she always seemed to have some weird trick or idea up her sleeve. Unfortunately, he was on his own for now. Not like it was a real problem but one that was simply irritating. He also missed the feeling of family he had back at home. Sure he had some new friends but they were just that, friends. Of course he didn't classify Arturia in the same group be she doesn't remember anything from the 5th war so it's not like that mattered very much.

Things like this only served to remind Shiro how over complicated life always seemed to be. No matter what you did, you can't have everything. That would simply be too easy. Of course nothing could ever be easy, Shiro decided, especially when I and Art are involved. That thought inevitably brought him back to the current situation which was still a jumbled mess of twisting lines and shaded backgrounds. One thing was certain though; an action would have to take place. The only question was what that particular action would be which obviously the actual hard part of the whole situation.

If what Aries claimed was true then it would mean that the so called Saxon army was coming down from the Germanic plains. Also providing that he knew his geography was correct then that meant they would be approaching somewhere from the northwest. Of course that didn't really make much of a difference because Camelot was relatively near the center of the country at the moment or at least as far as he could guess. Such things were always easier to work out with a map, but unfortunately, that wasn't something within the immediate future. Or was it?

"Hey, Shiro, you are about unusually late," said a familiar voice from behind him

"Yeah, just had a lot to think about," Shiro responded, knowing that Bedivere wouldn't care if he turned around or not.

"Oh, I see so Arturia finally found the wit to oust you from her chamber," the knight said with a mischievous grin on his face

"W-what is that supposed to mean!"

"Oh, nothing… just keeping an eye on two teenagers living in the same room who have a tendency to be found together, something is bound to happen someday you know," he said with a wink

"Well, this is still completely unfounded, our relationship isn't like that," Shiro said as his face started turning red

"Hm, well you know, denial is the first sign of guilt."

"Ahhh, whatever, by the way do you happen to have a map of the country?"

Bedivere stopped next to him and looked at him curiously for a minute," Why on earth would you need something like that?"

"Well, just curiosity I guess but at the same time it's important."

"Yes, I understand I think. If I remember correctly, no one has moved the maps from the side room in which you met with Sir Lancelot, so that should do well to serve your purposes."

Shiro nodded slightly and motioned for the more experienced knight to lead the way. He followed only a few short steps behind him but the silence drew on while the pair navigated the passageways of the stone structure. It took no less than fifteen seconds for Shiro's mind to wonder off.

One thing seemed to strike him though. Bedivere seemed way to… well, feminine. The way he spoke seemed almost like it was passively forced, but practiced and it seemed like it had a softer quality to it than the hard edge of the other knights. One could even go so far as to say that it had that girlish innocence somewhere deep down. Then there was his hair. It was probably longer than Arturia's when it was down although; it seemed to be more of bleach white than the golden crown that adorned the young king. Not to mention his hands. The two rarely had any form of physical contact because Bedivere seemed to avoid it like the plague, not that it mattered. Instead it made the fact that his skin was a strange, softly callused plain all the more apparent. Shiro had only found the same texture in one place and that was when he was holding Arturia's. Finally, there was the way he carried himself. If one thing was certain, then it was the difference in the way a man and woman walked. Bedivere seemed to have a lithe like grace in his steps that was normally attributed to females compared to someone like Galahad, who possessed a more solid stance with a large touch of arrogance.

Lost in thought to the fullest extent of the expression, Shiro nearly ran over Bedivere when he stopped and turned to a small side door. Well, a mystery for another time, Shiro decided even as possible conclusions began popping into mind, each being even weirder than the last. He shook his head sharply, trying to focus at least a little bit.

"So, here we are, and just as I supposed, everything seems to be unmoved," Bedivere said turning towards him

"Yeah, it hardly seems like a week since Lancelot was in here fighting about their escape route," Shiro replied with a small smile at the fresh memory

Bedivere let out a yawn before saying," I think that I shall go get some rest. Not all of us get the chance to laze around with the king every day."

Shiro just smirked in response and began leafing through a pile of papers and rolled up maps on the table. Only a moment later the door behind him closed quietly and he knew that he was alone. Without any more hesitation, he unrolled a pair of maps that sat near the head of the table. Both of which seemed to be a map of the known world, which Shiro knew that it was of course wrong in the aspect that there was an entire continent yet to be found but that wasn't the point. After a moment of inspection, he determined which was more detailed and laid it on top of the other.

The idea of it was fairly basic but understandable. It also only served to affirm Shiro's guesses. If the threat was real then it would have to come from a northeastern direction. That was of course if they decided to not build a lot of ships and transport them all the way to the other side, which would be completely ridicules and impractical. Not only would it take a ton of time but it would also ensure that they would be cut off from supplies or reinforcements, unless they took what they needed from conquered towns. With an army as big as suspected though, it would be hard pressed to accomplish such a thing.

With that idea out of mind, Shiro could focus on thinking of possible attacks from the northeast. He may not be much of a tactician but he had played his fair share of strategy games with Kiritsugu when he had the chance. Talk about brutal defeats, but he had learned his lessons well. Not to mention that they had to read the Art of War for their history class a few years back. He had asked his teacher what the point of them reading it was and he had been told that it was a useful text in everyday life. Never had he thought that it could be so literal.

First thing was finding a point of movement. It wasn't big but a range of mountain's closed off part of the country's borders. The most direct path was over a pass that would take them through a valley in between some of the peaks. It could probably be used as a supply caravan road and seemed like it would be easy to defend, however that would work both ways. It would cost a lot if someone were to try and take that while it was defended by the other side no matter what tricks were up their sleeve. This would definitely be a key point, no matter what happened.

Second, was a soldier's moral. This meant showy things like large scale meals, songs, dance, women and everything else they could do to keep things under control. All of these things meant money however, which in turn meant, attacking and plundering the many small villages that sat between points A to B. In turn that should mean that the other side was either defending or retreating at this time which was not an option, considering that they needed to hold onto the mountain pass if it was even still unoccupied. That was a question to be answered soon.

Unfortunately that didn't amount to much. The other army could probably just skirt around the mountains somewhere else and then make their way downward, plus the fact that they had the advantage of being able to come from just about anywhere, assuming that they could spend the time and money to do so. It wasn't impossible for an enemy to find a sponsor to attack Britannia. From Shiro's knowledge, it had made itself plenty of enemies but not enough friends. There seemed to be so many variables, that he didn't even want to think about where to start, let alone what comes after. In moments like this he really felt for Arturia. If everything she did was like this than her life was like trying to make two plus two equal five.

Shiro let out a sigh. Thinks like this were definitely not his thing. He pushed the maps away so that he could think for a moment. It wasn't that hard to imagine something of this sort going horribly wrong. Especially when other people would rely on your word and choice alone, of course that wasn't the case for Shiro because he wasn't in charge of anything. Right now, he was just a man looking to play at being hero again. But it's moments like these when the unnoticed appears before your eyes.

The two maps he had pushed away were now just separated, enough for Shiro to see a familiar red line going up and under the other parchment. Slowly, he reached out a hand to uncover the rest of the line. What he saw was something unwelcome indeed. If he remembered right, Lancelot had ordered for red ink so that he might draw a final pathway for their leave taking. He wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed but he sure did now. According to this path, they would be passing through the mountains in order to reach a port city Dubris (Dover) where they would then take a ship to pretty much anywhere. Unfortunately, they would have to go through one very specific and unique mountain pass.

Shiro left out another sigh before rubbing a hand on his face," Well, shit."

_AN: Yes I know cheesy using two authors notes, but I pretty much had to stop in the middle of this and then come back to it today so anyway, I hope you guys like it and I am again sorry for making you wait. I also have a good idea for another story but I know that it will only slow things further so it's like_

_GAHHHH! I wanna write this *reaches for keyboard*_

_NO! You'll only make people mad*conscience slaps hand*_

_Sigh, I need to sleep… So see you all next chapter & thanks for waiting!_


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